umpire

noun um·pire \ ˈəm-ˌpī(-ə)r \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of umpire

1 : an official in a sport who rules on plays

2 : one having authority to decide finally a controversy or question between parties: such as

a : one appointed to decide between arbitrators who have disagreed

b : an impartial third party chosen to arbitrate disputes arising under the terms of a labor agreement

3 : a military officer who evaluates maneuvers

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See umpire defined for kids

Examples of umpire in a Sentence

usually acts as umpire in the all-too-frequent squabbles between the two other roommates

Recent Examples of umpire from the Web

By the time everyone returned to the dugout, all five players were ejected from the game by umpires, ESPN reported.

— dave quinn, PEOPLE.com, "Baseball Brawls! 4 Teams — Including the Yankees and Red Sox — Fight on the Field: See the Videos," 12 Apr. 2018
After a brief umpire review confirmed the ball did not leave the park, catcher Devin Mesoraco singled to right field and Phillip Ervin tied the score with a single to center field.

— bob brookover, Philly.com, "Phillies sweep Reds on Kingery's sacrifice fly, complete 5-1 homestand," 12 Apr. 2018
The tourney raises scholarship money for local players and is named after a deceased former umpire.

— james weber, Cincinnati.com, "Beechwood wins All 'A' regional," 11 Apr. 2018
Home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez’s strike zone was stingy.

— chandler rome, Houston Chronicle, "Astros' comeback falls short in loss to Twins," 11 Apr. 2018
Molina went after manager Torey Lovullo, who had questioned ball-strike calls and called the catcher a vulgar name in trying to make his point to umpire Tim Timmons.

— tom haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Cardinals 5, Brewers 3 (11): Bullpen blows leads in ninth, 10th innings before decisive HR," 10 Apr. 2018
Out of concern for Milner’s health, umpires allowed him five warmup pitches.

— tom verducci, SI.com, "Gabe Kapler Is an Analytics Fanatic Addicted to Fitness. Are Phillies Fans Ready to Embrace Him?," 10 Apr. 2018
Lovullo was ejected for arguing balls and strikes by home plate umpire Tim Timmons.

— nick piecoro, azcentral, "Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo suspended 1 game," 10 Apr. 2018
But home-plate umpire and crew chief Ted Barrett called each a ball.

— maria torres, kansascity, "Royals let one get away late in 3-1 loss to Indians | The Kansas City Star," 8 Apr. 2018

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

History of umpire

The word umpire was formed by metanalysis, or the changing of the division of words based upon how they sound together. The original word in English was noumpere, which was a borrowing of the French term nompere. The -pere of nompere was the French word for “equal,” a descendant of the Latin word par (“equal”) that is the root of words like peer, pair, and, of course, par. Noumpere became the form used in English for “one without equal” or “peerless,” but frequent references to a noumpere ended up becoming references to an oumpere, which became the modern word umpire. It’s ironic that the word for a person who literally calls balls and strikes is called by a name created by a linguistic foul.

Origin and Etymology of umpire

Middle English oumpere, alteration (from misdivision of a noumpere) of noumpere, from Anglo-French nounpier, nompere, from nounpier, adjective, single, odd, from non- + per equal, from Latin par

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

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umpire Synonyms

Synonyms

adjudicator, arbiter, arbitrator, judge, referee;

Related Words

jurist, justice, magistrate;

intermediary, intermediate, mediator, moderator, negotiator;

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

decider;

umpire

verb

Definition of umpire

umpired; umpiring

transitive verb

: to supervise or decide as umpire

intransitive verb

: to act as umpire

See umpire defined for English-language learners

Examples of umpire in a Sentence

in our family disputes regarding the use of our home entertainment system are umpired by Dad

Recent Examples of umpire from the Web

But to me, umpiring is an integral part of the game, obviously.

— paul sullivan, chicagotribune.com, "Hawk Harrelson and A.J. Pierzynski take their act to Sox Park," 5 Apr. 2018
And then the brain trust in New York overturned the call, which led to Gardenhire rushing the umpiring crew, kicking dirt onto the plate (a strong throwback move) and being ejected.

— si.com staff, SI.com, "Nine Innings: Blowing Up Small Sample Sizes, Heroic Homer Feats and Establishing an All-MLB Team," 2 Apr. 2018
No woman has ever umpired in the 140-plus years of major league baseball.

— shawn windsor, Detroit Free Press, "How umpire at Detroit Tigers game is ready to break gender barrier," 23 Feb. 2018
But something changed in the seven years since the last woman gave minor-league umpiring a shot.

— shawn windsor, Detroit Free Press, "How umpire at Detroit Tigers game is ready to break gender barrier," 23 Feb. 2018
Harvey umpired from 1962 through 1992, and was a crew chief for 18 of his 31 seasons.

— kansascity, "Final Chapters for Jan. 21, 2018 | The Kansas City Star," 20 Jan. 2018
Who: Boys and girls ages 4-14, and also umpires ages 12 and older.

— sabrina gese, sandiegouniontribune.com, "North County community sports," 8 Jan. 2018
Motley had remained in Kansas City, umpiring local baseball games and officiating for football and basketball.

— blair kerkhoff, kansascity, "Passing of a legend: pioneering umpire Bob Motley dies at 94," 15 Sep. 2017
The Blue Jays challenged the call, asking the umpiring crew to review for fan interference.

— rustin dodd, kansascity, "Mike Moustakas’ most memorable home runs as a Royal," 20 Sep. 2017

First Known Use of umpire

1609

umpire Synonyms

Synonyms

adjudge, adjudicate, arbitrate, decide, determine, judge, referee, rule (on), settle;

Near Antonyms

equivocate, hedge, pussyfoot, skirt;

size up;

mediate, moderate, negotiate;

prosecute, try;

find (for or against);

conclude, resolve;

UMPIRE Defined for English Language Learners

umpire

noun

Definition of umpire for English Language Learners

: a person who controls play and makes sure that players act according to the rules in a sports event (such as a baseball game or a cricket or tennis match)

umpire

verb

Definition of umpire for English Language Learners

: to be an umpire in a sports event (such as a baseball game)

UMPIRE Defined for Kids

umpire

noun um·pire \ ˈəm-ˌpīr \

Definition of umpire for Students

: an official in a sport (as baseball) who enforces the rules

Law Dictionary

umpire

noun um·pire

legal Definition of umpire

: a person having authority to decide finally a controversy or question between parties: as

a : one appointed to decide between disagreeing arbitrators

b : an impartial third party chosen to arbitrate disputes arising under the terms of a labor agreement

c : one appointed to mediate between the appraisers of an insured and insurer in order to determine the amount of a loss

Learn More about umpire

See words that rhyme with umpire Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for umpire Spanish Central: Translation of umpire Nglish: Translation of umpire for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of umpire for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about umpire

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umpire

Definition of umpire

Examples of umpire in a Sentence

Recent Examples of umpire from the Web

First Known Use of umpire

umpire Synonyms

Synonyms

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Related Words

UMPIRE Defined for English Language Learners

umpire

Definition of umpire for English Language Learners

umpire

Definition of umpire for English Language Learners

UMPIRE Defined for Kids

umpire

Definition of umpire for Students

Law Dictionary

umpire

legal Definition of umpire

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