judge

noun \ ˈjəj \

Updated on: 18 May 2018

Definition of judge

: one who makes judgments: such as

a : a public official authorized to decide questions brought before a court

b : one appointed to decide in a contest or competition : umpire

c : one who gives an authoritative opinion

d : critic

e often capitalized : a tribal hero exercising leadership among the Hebrews after the death of Joshua

—

judgeship

play \ˈjəj-ˌship\ noun

See judge defined for English-language learners

Examples of judge in a Sentence

She's one of the strictest judges in the state.
He served as a judge at the baking contest.
“I don't think we should trust her.” “Let me be the judge of that.”
She is a good judge of character.

Recent Examples of judge from the Web

Kept safe, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said, for that hopeful someday when a judge or jurors might need to see them to help convict the killers.

— chris graves, Cincinnati.com, "Pike County: Death in the foothills," 15 May 2018
Arizona will soon require a judge’s order to remove a child from her/his home.

— AZCentral.com, "Kids in crisis in Arizona: What’s going wrong, and how you can help," 15 May 2018
The awards, selected by judges from the New Mexico Press Association, were presented at the association’s News with Integrity and Excellence in Journalism Conference held Friday in Annapolis.

— staff report, Columbia Flier, "Journalists honored by regional press association," 14 May 2018
At least one federal judge resigned rather than comply.

— jill lepore, The New Yorker, "The Rise of the Victims’-Rights Movement," 14 May 2018
The bids are being opposed by both the city and by the company that was appointed by a judge to run Rashaed's troubled real estate empire.

— cary spivak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "City objects to notorious landlord Rashaed's bid to sell and finance home sales to tenants," 14 May 2018
Founded in 2000, the SFWSC took place April 13-15 in San Francisco, where nearly 2,500 entries were judged by 47 expert judges from more than 65 countries, according to a spokeswoman for the competition.

— wesley case, baltimoresun.com, "Led by Baltimore Whiskey Company, Maryland distilleries win medals at major national competition," 14 May 2018
This is despite the fact that in February a state judge acknowledged his innocence and the Missouri Supreme Court ordered his release two weeks ago.

— breanna edwards, The Root, "A Missouri Man Has Already Served Almost 2 Decades in Prison for a Murder He Didn’t Commit, but He Still Has Not Been Freed," 14 May 2018
In 2014, Judge David Bottger -- the same judge who'd sentenced Blagg to life, threw out the murder conviction, granting Blagg a new trial.

— susan mallie, CBS News, "Colorado man convicted of wife's murder gets a second shot at freedom," 12 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'judge.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of judge

Middle English juge, from Anglo-French, from Latin judex — see ²judge

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

judge Synonyms

Synonyms

adjudicator, arbiter, arbitrator, referee, umpire;

Related Words

jurist, justice, magistrate;

intermediary, intermediate, mediator, moderator, negotiator;

conciliator, go-between, peacemaker, reconciler, troubleshooter;

decider;

judge

verb

Definition of judge

judged; judging

transitive verb

1 : to form an opinion about through careful weighing of evidence and testing of premises

2 : to form an estimate or evaluation of

trying to judge the amount of time required

; especially : to form a negative opinion about

shouldn't judge him because of his accent

3 : to hold as an opinion : guess, think

I judge she knew what she was doing

4 : to sit in judgment on : try

judge a case

5 : to determine or pronounce after inquiry and deliberation

They judged him guilty.

6 : govern, rule —used of a Hebrew tribal leader

intransitive verb

1 : to form an opinion

2 : to decide as a judge

—

judger

noun

See judge defined for English-language learners

See judge defined for kids

Examples of judge in a Sentence

You should not judge people by their appearance.
He was trying to judge the strength of his opponent.
We should do whatever we judge to be the right thing.
Who are you to judge me?
He feels that they have judged him unfairly.
Don't judge her too severely.
The jury will be asked to judge the defendant's guilt.
If you are accused of a crime you have the right to be judged by a jury of your peers.

Recent Examples of judge from the Web

Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurency as judged by market cap, is also down, though to a much lesser degree.

— chris morris, Fortune, "Caveat Emptor: Major Cryptos Are Still in Negative Territory For 2018," 14 May 2018
The Times entries were judged in the division for non-daily publications with circulation between 10,000 and 20,000.

— staff report, Columbia Flier, "Journalists honored by regional press association," 14 May 2018
As a result, some people previously judged legally insane suddenly were eligible for release.

— jayme fraser, the malheur enterprise, idahostatesman, "Doctors warned that Oregon killer, rapist would attack again. The state released him. | Idaho Statesman," 6 May 2018
Days before the Pyeongchang Winter Games in February, two CAS judging panels upheld appeals of 28 Russian athletes against IOC sanctions that included Olympic life bans and being stripped of their Sochi results.

— Washington Post, "IOC to challenge Russian doping cases at Swiss supreme court," 5 May 2018
Ranking the college free agents, Pro Football Focus judged Nic Shimonek of Texas Tech the top undrafted quarterback.

— tom krasovic, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Broncos, Chiefs and Chargers made interesting moves in draft and afterward," 3 May 2018
Many will be judging the summit based on the weak nuclear language.

— foster klug, The Christian Science Monitor, "In historic summit, Korean leaders repeat commitment to denuclearize," 27 Apr. 2018
My grandfather had a dream that his four little children would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

— Seventeen, "Seventeen's Special Print Issue Honors The March For Our Lives and The Teens Who Made It Happen," 5 Apr. 2018
The competition was judged at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, and the Ramona Ranch wines will be among wines showcased in the 7th annual Toast of the Coast Wine Festival during the 2018 San Diego County Fair.

— joyce strand, Ramona Sentinel, "Ramona Ranch receives awards for its wines," 28 Mar. 2018

Origin and Etymology of judge

Middle English juggen, from Anglo-French juger, from Latin judicare, from judic-, judex judge, from jus right, law + dicere to decide, say — more at just, diction

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

judge Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of judge

infer, deduce, conclude, judge, gather mean to arrive at a mental conclusion. infer implies arriving at a conclusion by reasoning from evidence; if the evidence is slight, the term comes close to surmise.

- from that remark, I inferred that they knew each other

deduce often adds to infer the special implication of drawing a particular inference from a generalization.

- denied we could deduce anything important from human mortality

conclude implies arriving at a necessary inference at the end of a chain of reasoning.

- concluded that only the accused could be guilty

judge stresses a weighing of the evidence on which a conclusion is based.

- judge people by their actions

gather suggests an intuitive forming of a conclusion from implications.

- gathered their desire to be alone without a word

JUDGE Defined for English Language Learners

judge

verb

Definition of judge for English Language Learners

: to form an opinion about (something or someone) after careful thought
: to regard (someone) as either good or bad
law : to make an official decision about (a legal case)

judge

noun

Definition of judge for English Language Learners

law : a person who has the power to make decisions on cases brought before a court of law
: a person who decides the winner in a contest or competition
: a person who makes a decision or judgment

JUDGE Defined for Kids

judge

verb \ ˈjəj \

Definition of judge for Students

judged; judging

1 : to form an opinion after careful consideration

I judged the distance badly.

2 : to act with authority to reach a decision (as in a trial)

3 : think 1 What do you judge is the best solution?

4 : to form an opinion of in comparison with others

She judged pies at the fair.

Word Root of judge

The Latin word jus, meaning “law” or “rights,” and its form juris give us the roots jus and jur. Words from the Latin jus have something to do with law. A juror is a person who decides the facts of a case in a court of law. A jury is a group of jurors. When a decision in a court is just, it is fair and right and agrees with the law. Even the first two letters of judge, to form an opinion about whether something follows the law and is right, come from jus.

judge

noun

Definition of judge for Students

1 : a public official whose duty is to decide questions brought before a court

2 : a person appointed to decide in a contest or competition

3 : a person with the experience to give a meaningful opinion : critic He's a good judge of talent.

Law Dictionary

judge

verb \ ˈjəj \

legal Definition of judge

judged; judging

transitive verb

1 : to hear and decide (as a litigated question) in a court of justice

judge a case

2 : to pronounce after inquiry and deliberation

he was judged incompetent

intransitive verb

: to make a determination : decide

judge between two accounts

Origin and Etymology of judge

Old French jugier, from Latin judicare, from judic-, judex judge, from jus right, law + dicere to decide, say

judge

noun

legal Definition of judge

: a public official vested with the authority to hear, determine, and preside over legal matters brought in court; also : one (as a justice of the peace) who performs one or more functions of such an official