rubric
n. countablen. a set of rules or standards used to judge how good a piece of work is. It tells you exactly what you need to do to get a good grade.
n. a set of criteria or standards used for evaluating the quality of a piece of work. In a legal context, it refers to the title or heading of a legal document or statute.
The teacher gave us a rubric to help us write the essay.
The students were confused because the rubric did not clearly explain how the research section would be graded.
While the legal rubric of the contract appeared sound, the underlying terms were so vague that they eventually led to a lengthy dispute in the courts.
From Middle English rubriche, rubrike, from Old French rubrique, from Latin rūbrīca (“red ochre”), the substance used to make red letters, from ruber (“red”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ-.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 28, 2026