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judgment call

noun
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Definition of judgment call

: a subjective decision, ruling, or opinion

Examples of judgment call in a Sentence

The rules aren't clear in this case, so officials are required to make a judgment call.
Recent Examples on the Web If the amount due is caused by a simple math error, my judgment call would be to pay it (but your accountant should be the judge). — Julie Jason, The Mercury News, "Julie Jason: If you miscalculate, it can draw the IRS’ notice," 3 Sep. 2019 Because moviemaking relies on personal judgment calls, studios try to reduce risk by adhering to rules of thumb. — Brooks Barnes, New York Times, "Not Even ‘Star Wars’ Can Save This Year’s Box Office," 22 Dec. 2019 The Nationals wanted to play the game under protest, but protests are not permitted on judgment calls. — Jesse Yomtov, USA TODAY, "Nationals' Trea Turner out on controversial interference call; manager Dave Martinez ejected in Game 6," 30 Oct. 2019 Political reporters will do almost anything to avoid making a judgment call. — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, "The Media’s Irrational Obsession With Campaign War Chests," 22 Nov. 2019 In those cases, officers have explicit permission to search, so racial bias is unlikely to be at play, versus when the search is more of a judgment call, experts said. — Ben Poston, Los Angeles Times, "LAPD searches blacks and Latinos more. But they’re less likely to have contraband than whites," 8 Oct. 2019 Just the same, keep your risks down and make each risk a judgment call. — BostonGlobe.com, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY," 22 Nov. 2019 Mathematical formulas generated the firm’s moves, as did Ax’s judgment calls. — Gregory Zuckerman, Quartz, "The history of blunders and missteps that led to the quant trading revolution," 6 Nov. 2019 By making it a judgment call, NASCAR will continue to face decisions on crew member involvement in fights. — Bob Pockrass, USA TODAY, "Opinion: Driver fights bring buzz to NASCAR but also judgment calls from crew members, officials," 31 Oct. 2019

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

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First Known Use of judgment call

1847, in the meaning defined above

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Time Traveler for judgment call

Time Traveler

The first known use of judgment call was in 1847

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Statistics for judgment call

Last Updated

26 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Judgment call.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/judgment%20call. Accessed 26 Feb. 2020.

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More Definitions for judgment call

judgment call

noun

English Language Learners Definition of judgment call

: a decision that is based on your opinion

See the full definition for judgment call in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with judgment call

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