unwritten rule

collocation in English

meaningsofunwrittenandrule

These words are often used together. Click on the links below to explore the meanings. Or,see other collocations withrule.
unwritten
adjective
uk
/ʌnˈrɪt.ən/us
/ʌnˈrɪt̬.ən/
Something that is unwritten does not exist in a written or ...
See more atunwritten
rule
noun
uk
/ruːl/us
/ruːl/
an accepted principle or instruction that states the way things are or should be done, and tells you what you are allowed or are not allowed ...
See more atrule

(Definition ofunwrittenandrulefrom theCambridge English Dictionary© Cambridge University Press)

Examplesofunwritten rule

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
Anunwrittenruletakes into account the real context of the problem at a given moment.
From theCambridge English Corpus
I certainly hope that there is no suchunwrittenrule.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
It is a sort ofunwrittenruleand it is not a written rule at all.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
It is incredible that thisunwrittenrulewas abandoned by the previous government.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Indeed, that was theunwrittenruleabout getting planning permission on greenfield sites.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Thisunwrittenruleis not universally accepted.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Appointed foreign ministers tend to follow thisunwrittenrule.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
One importantunwrittenrulewill be that the political views and personality of the commentator will not intrude.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Theirunwrittenrulewas that anyone over thirty was old and out.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
As anunwrittenrule, the captain of any ship wore a white peaked cap.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
It appears almost as though there were anunwrittenrulethat prisoners with longer sentences should serve at least half their sentence.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
There is anunwrittenrulein our public administration system that the prospect of hanging—in whatever form—serves to concentrate the departmental mind.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
There is a sort ofunwrittenruleabout how we do this, and usually a closure motion is taken about once every seven hours.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
It seems to be anunwrittenruleof life that when one gets technological acceleration, things come almost to a grinding halt shortly afterwards.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Some circles have anunwrittenrulethat there is no apologizing when a person drops the footbag.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
He mentioned that it is anunwrittenrulethat the bloodline of the sage should not be messed with.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
This violated anunwrittenrulethat defensive players do not rush in a situation when the quarterback kneels down.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Since the stadium was opened, it has been anunwrittenrulethat the stadium can never be taller than the surrounding pine trees.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Confirming theunwrittenruleof securing presence of top-12 teams in first-division, both teams were awarded a berth in first division.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
But going by past precedents, the attempted change in the normal thoughunwrittenruleof succession was quite unfair to the elder son.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
However, they have anunwrittenrulethat if anyone figures out the trick, that person can use it to their own advantage.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Tremblay would be roundly criticized for the goaltender decision, as it violated anunwrittenrulewhere a star goalie would have been taken out of the game on an off-night.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
The truce is more than terrible, as the wounded boy has, after anunwrittenrule, to inflict five identical wounds to his friend, so the friendship can be rebuilt.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
Want to learn more?
Go to the definition ofunwritten
Go to the definition ofrule
See other collocations withrule