standard
n. C / Un. a level of quality or a rule that people use to judge how good something is. You use it to decide if something is acceptable or not.
n. a required or agreed level of quality or attainment. Often functions as a benchmark for comparison or a criterion for evaluation.
The hotel has a very high standard of service.
The government set a new safety standard for all cars sold in the country to reduce road accidents.
Maintaining a consistent standard across international branches requires rigorous quality control and frequent staff training to ensure the brand's reputation remains intact.
From Middle English standard, from Old French estandart (“gathering place, battle flag”), from Frankish standahard (literally “stand firm, stand hard”), equivalent to stand + -ard. An alternative etymology derives the second element from Frankish oʀd (“point, spot, place”) (compare Old French ordé (“pointed”), Old English ord (“point, source, vanguard”), German Standort (“location, place, site, position, base”, literally “standing-point”)). Merged with Middle English standar, stander, standere (“flag, banner”, literally “stander”), equivalent to stand + -er. More at stand, hard, ord. As a hill-naming term possibly a calque from Cumbric; equivalent to Welsh lluman (“standard”), arising with confusion with the hill-naming element llumon (“chimney”).
Often used in the plural ('standards') when referring to a person's moral principles or general expectations of quality.
The work is not up to the standard.The work is not up to standard.In the fixed idiom 'up to standard', the definite article 'the' is usually omitted.