How to Use slide rule in a Sentence

slide rule

noun
  • That was a bit of this stereotype of the Asian with a slide rule.
    — David Marchese, New York Times, 20 Nov. 2020
  • Fortunately, the game is filled with people who know their way around a slide rule.
    — Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 11 Mar. 2023
  • Think of an armillary sphere like a circular slide rule with four separate axes.
    — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 2 Jan. 2020
  • Here’s video of the play eventually ruled as a slide rule violation.
    — Dallas News, 23 Apr. 2022
  • Certain threw his briefcase, slide rule, pencils and charts behind him, not wanting any loose items stabbing him.
    — Jeremy Redmon, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2023
  • The basic office gym—with a handful of treadmills and weight equipment—also is going the way of the slide rule.
    — Keiko Morris, WSJ, 10 June 2018
  • Its sibling, meanwhile, has an anthracite dial meant to mimic the depth of space; the slide rule is here, too, paired alongside.
    — Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 18 Mar. 2026
  • One indication of that passion is a giant slide rule hanging on a stair wall on the first floor of his trinity.
    — Sally Friedman, Philly.com, 25 Apr. 2018
  • The Germans, using a slide rule, would plot out targets before launch and let a compass guide the rocket in the air.
    — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 8 Sep. 2017
  • The Boeing logo is subtly integrated into the red ring of the slide rule.
    — Carol Besler, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2023
  • When a violation of the slide rule occurs, the offending runner and the batter-runner will be called out.
    — Dallas News, 11 Apr. 2022
  • For a more minimalist look, the 32 mm Navitimers feature the beaded bezel but not the slide rule.
    — Carol Besler, Robb Report, 7 Sep. 2023
  • That platinum iteration is home to a deep-blue dial like the Concorde tribute, and a white inner slide rule, too.
    — Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Like tossing a slide rule, aggressive substitution should just happen.
    — Peter Tertzakian, USA TODAY, 23 Oct. 2017
  • The eye-catching cream dial, which mirrors a cockpit’s navigation screen, pairs black subdials with a red-and-white slide rule.
    — Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 27 Jan. 2023
  • Architects have ditched their slide rules for computer software, but big buildings don’t get constructed without them.
    — Liz Hoffman and Telis Demos, WSJ, 18 Aug. 2018
  • Rosol took inspiration the school’s shield and the patch its instructors wear, suggesting the colors, the stars, slide rule and orange flash in his scheme.
    — Eric Tegler, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2021
  • The decline of the art of memory and slide rule illustrates the power of this sort of technology to be progressive.
    — Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 6 Aug. 2011
  • But even without a pocket calculator or slide rule, Cassidy is sensitive to the need for more even-strength production.
    — Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Feb. 2021
  • Many of us would now struggle to perform the mental arithmetic which our parents and grandparents learned, and would be stumped if asked to perform calculations with a slide rule.
    — Calum Chace, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2023
  • The pitch clocks, slide rules, protective netting, limited mound visits and three-batter minimums are the least of baseball’s worries.
    — Jeff Bailey, The Denver Post, 23 Dec. 2019
  • Maddon was ejected in Game 1 at Dodger Stadium after a call at home plate was overturned because of the slide rule.
    — USA TODAY, 19 Oct. 2017
  • In an email, Professor Pasquale explained the pedagogical value of slide rules.
    — Alex Traub, New York Times, 10 Feb. 2024
  • By that time, small electronic calculators became affordable and quickly displaced both the Curta and the slide rule.
    — Dan Falk, Ars Technica, 9 Dec. 2021
  • In a twist of irony, Simmons was actually determined to have violated the slide rule in the fourth inning as Odor tried to turn a double play.
    — Jeff Wilson, star-telegram, 3 June 2018
  • Following the races within the race often requires the use of a calculator (or, for those Tour traditionalists, a slide rule).
    — Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 5 Aug. 2022
  • Johnson and her colleagues used only a slide rule, pencils, and a desktop calculator to calculate the path needed to get astronauts to the moon and to bring the group back home safely.
    — Madison Dibble, Washington Examiner, 24 Feb. 2020
  • The company previously brought us doo-dads such as an intricate circular slide rule, a clever measuring disc, and a folding-blade knife that can be opened with the same hand that's holding it.
    — Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 4 Mar. 2025
  • Dwyer recalled that because the students did not have calculators until late in the year, Bjorkquist taught them how to do complicated calculations on a slide rule.
    — Elizabeth Marie Himchak, Pomerado News, 1 Sep. 2017
  • Hayward craves distraction and Smeathers engages all his debates, whether the subject is the NFL slide rule or a compound math problem.
    — Lee Jenkins, SI.com, 20 Dec. 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slide rule.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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