decision-maker

noun

de·​ci·​sion-mak·​er di-ˈsi-zhən-ˌmā-kər 

variants or less commonly decision maker

plural decision-makers also decision makers

: someone who is known or primarily responsible for making decisions

a good decision-maker

one of the company's key/top decision makers

However, this does not permit corrections personnel or a warden to automatically assume the role of the patient's medical decision-maker.

—Erik Larsen and Katherine Drabiak

Examples of decision-maker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

By the end of it, executive VP of player personnel Eliot Wolf was saying all the things decision-makers usually do after making their most important picks. —Chad Graff, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2026

The financial component has less of an impact on NFL decision-makers as the age issue. —Mark Long, Chicago Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026

In the weeks before the draft, a team of decision-makers gathers there and hears reports on each player, discusses them and arranges the players on the board by a grade. —Andrew Greif, NBC news, 23 Apr. 2026

In a late March interview, Birol said global decision-makers aren’t prepared to handle the full breadth of the energy crisis. —Jake Angelo, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for decision-maker

• policymaker
• automaker
• boilermaker
• cabinetmaker
• coffeemaker
• troublemaker
• undertaker
• blackacre
• caretaker
• clockmaker
• dressmaker
• filmmaker