(~s)
If you use someone or something as a ~, you use them as a standard for comparison when you are judging other people or things.
There has been no ~ by which potential students can assess individual schools before signing up for a course.
N-COUNT
(~s)
If you use someone or something as a ~, you use them as a standard for comparison when you are judging other people or things.
There has been no ~ by which potential students can assess individual schools before signing up for a course.
N-COUNT
Collins COBUILD. Толковый словарь английского языка для изучающих язык Коллинз COBUILD (международная база данных языков Бирмингемского университета) . 2012