Definition of "doctrine" []

• A principle or body of principles presented for acceptance or belief, as by a religious, political, scientific, or philosophic group; dogma. (noun)
• A rule or principle of law, especially when established by precedent. (noun)
• A statement of official government policy, especially in foreign affairs and military strategy. (noun)
• Archaic Something taught; a teaching. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "-- This, sir, is doctrine that will stand, because it is _Bible doctrine_."
• "I at present entirely reject the blastema doctrine in its original form, and in its place I put the _doctrine of the continuous development of tissues out of one another_."
• "To remove our perplexity, Pascal gravely tells us, that _it is necessary to judge the doctrine by the miracles, and the miracles by the doctrine; that the doctrine proves the miracles, and the miracles the doctrine_."