decision

1 of 2

noun

de·​ci·​sion di-ˈsi-zhən 

1

a

: the act or process of deciding

the moment of decision has come

b

: a determination arrived at after consideration : conclusion

made the decision to attend graduate school

2

: a report of a conclusion

a 5-page decision

a Supreme Court decision

3

: promptness and firmness in deciding : determination

acting with decision

4

a

: win

specifically, combat sports : a victory based on points awarded

Former heavyweight champion kickboxer Sterling (Cash) McCallum took a unanimous decision over Cesar Rendon in an eight-round standard bout in Phoenix …

—New York Times

b

baseball : a win or loss officially credited to a pitcher

has five wins in eight decisions

decisional

di-ˈsi-zhnəl 

-ˈsi-zhə-nᵊl

adjective

decision

2 of 2

verb

decisioned; decisioning; decisions

transitive verb

combat sports

: to win by being awarded more points than (an opponent)

… he hasn't won an important fight since he decisioned Duran on Jan. 30, 1982.

—William Nack

Synonyms

Noun

• award
• call
• conclusion
• deliverance
• determination
• diagnosis
• judgment
• judgement
• opinion
• resolution
• verdict

Examples of decision in a Sentence

Noun

She announced her decision to go to medical school.

Have you made a decision?

He based his decision on facts, not emotions.

She made a conscious decision to leave the painting unfinished.

We need someone who will act with decision even under pressure.

The U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 decision brought an end to racial segregation in public schools.

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Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Brandeis University’s decision to ban SJP is not unprecedented. —Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 24 Nov. 2023

Advertisement As with Anderson’s case, Smith’s death was held up by mental health practitioners and critics of the department as proof that officers are ill-equipped to make the right decisions when confronting people in distress. —Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 23 Nov. 2023

Newsletter Sign-up Sustainable Business A weekly look at environmental, social and governance issues and strategies for corporate decision makers. —Yusuf Khan, WSJ, 23 Nov. 2023

Foxconn’s large presence in mainland China has led to worries that Beijing could threaten the company to influence Gou’s decisions. —Lionel Lim, Fortune, 23 Nov. 2023

When the entire group judges her decision, Monica turns it back on all of them with a one-liner hit list of their own questionable decisions. —Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Nov. 2023

What informed the decision to emphasize zero-waste home-cooking habits? —Megan Zhang, Saveur, 22 Nov. 2023

All of these were tragic incidents involving some very bad decisions. —Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Nov. 2023

Of course, this is a small sample, and there’s much more to a migration decision than party affiliation or income-tax rates. —Steve H. Hanke, National Review, 22 Nov. 2023

Verb

The International Energy Agency reported last month that demand for oil, gas and coal will peak by 2030 before going into a steady decline, leading its executive director, Fatih Birol, to warn oil company executives that decisions to double down on fossil fuel infrastructure could prove misguided. —Aaron Gregg, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2023

Several other cases against Mr. Barker and the producers were settled out of court, decisions Mr. Barker attributed to the show’s owners over the years. —Robin Webb, Washington Post, 26 Aug. 2023

Suggestions by officials that decisions about releasing flood waters into Zhuozhou and elsewhere in Hebei were made to minimize the impact on the capital Beijing, Xiong’an and the port city of Tianjin also caused a backlash. —Simone McCarthy, CNN, 18 Aug. 2023

How Ryan Day and/or Brian Hartline call a game — and what decisions those quarterbacks make — could vary noticeably from their predecessors. —Nathan Baird, cleveland, 23 July 2023

Decision Intelligence encompasses a range of approaches, from decision automation (where the machine does most of the decision-making) to decision augmentation (balancing humans and machines). —James Taylor, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2023

This is a book about the decisions that many of us in our daily lives and certainly decisions that our government has made — and our corporations have made — to allow and perpetuate all this poverty in this land. —Marissa Evans, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2023

MoneyBagg penned a heartfelt letter to his fans explaining his hiatus and decision to return to the music space, with the new music slated for a May 26 release date. —Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 11 May 2023

Giving the final call on Trump back to Facebook is unlikely to result in the fair and even decision the board members are calling for, said Joan Donovan, a disinformation and extremism researcher at Harvard University. —Washington Post, 6 May 2021

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Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English decisioun, borrowed from Anglo-French decision "judgment" (Middle French also "act of deciding, coming to a definitive conclusion"), borrowed from Latin dēcīsiōn-, dēcīsio "curtailment, diminishment, settlement, agreement," from dēcīdere "to cut off, cut out, mark by cutting, settle, choose as a course of action" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at decide

Verb

derivative of decision entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1914, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing decision

• hand down a decision
• informed decision
• split decision
• split-second decision
• take a decision
• decision maker
• decision tree
• sub-decision
• decision-making
• decision theory
• overturn the decision
• uphold the decision

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• hand down a decision
• informed decision
• split decision
• split-second decision
• take a decision
• decision maker
• decision tree
• sub-decision
• decision-making
• decision theory
• overturn the decision
• uphold the decision

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Kids Definition

decision

noun

de·​ci·​sion

di-ˈsizh-ən

1

: the act or result of deciding

the decision of the court

2

: promptness and firmness in deciding : determination

a leader of courage and decision

Legal Definition

decision

noun

de·​ci·​sion di-ˈsi-zhən 

: an authoritative determination (as a decree or judgment) made after consideration of facts or law

also : a report or document containing such a determination see also memorandum decision compare disposition, finding, holding, judgment, opinion, ruling, verdict

Note: A decision, while being an authoritative determination of a disputed issue, does not have to be a final determination closing the case. Some interlocutory decisions may be appealed.

decisional

-zhə-nəl 

adjective