Norm example sentences
Related (13): standard, convention, custom, average, typical, normal, usual, expectation, baseline, tradition, rule, pattern, conformity
"Norm" Example Sentences
Common Phrases
- break the norm
- challenge the norm
- against the norm
- the norm is
- social norm
- cultural norm
- deviate from the norm
- set the norm
- establish a norm
- statistical norm
- back to the norm
- far from the norm
Examples by Level
A1
- The norm is to say hello when you meet someone.
- In this school, the norm is wearing a uniform.
A2
- She didn't follow the norm and wore jeans to the formal dinner.
- The norm for breakfast in this country is very different from yours.
B1
- Breaking the norm felt terrifying at first, but then it felt like freedom.
- There's a norm in our office that nobody talks about salaries, but everyone knows it's unfair.
B2
- The norm around masculinity has been so rigid that men are finally starting to question it.
- She'd spent years trying to fit the norm before realizing it was slowly killing her.
C1
- What we accept as the norm is often just the status quo dressed up as natural law.
- The tension between individual authenticity and social norm has defined her entire career.
C2
- There's a particular exhaustion that comes from perpetually existing outside the norm—not dramatic, just relentless.
- He understood that the norm wasn't a law of nature but a collective agreement that could be renegotiated.
Examples by Scenario
🏠 Everyday Life
- The norm in our neighborhood is that everyone knows everyone's business.
- My kid asked why the norm is that girls wear pink and boys wear blue.
💼 Workplace
- The norm here is that you don't leave before your boss does, even if your work is done.
- She challenged the norm by working from home three days a week, and somehow it worked.
📊 Business
- The norm in venture capital is to fund young men with no experience over experienced women.
- Our company decided to break the norm and offer unlimited vacation days.
🛒 Buying / Shopping
- The norm for jeans prices is ridiculous—why are we paying sixty dollars for cotton?
- I tried to return something without a receipt and apparently that breaks the norm.
✈️ Travel
- The norm when traveling is to stay in hotels, but we rented an apartment instead.
- Tipping culture is confusing because the norm is completely different in every country.
📚 Education
- The norm in schools is still that you sit quietly and listen, even though we know kids learn differently.
- My teacher broke the norm by letting us fail without shame and actually teaching us something.
❤️ Relationships
- We broke the norm by staying friends after the breakup, and it's been the best decision.
- The norm is that you're supposed to want marriage and kids, but we didn't, and that was okay.
📰 News / Politics
- The norm for political coverage is sensationalism over substance.
- The candidate challenged the norm by actually answering the question instead of pivoting.
💻 Technology
- The norm is that your phone tracks everything you do, and we've all just accepted it.
- The norm for social media is performative happiness, which is why everyone's actually depressed.
📝 Formal Writing
- The norm in academic writing is to use passive voice, though modern style guides discourage it.
- Deviating from the norm in professional correspondence can undermine your credibility.