judges 1 of 2

Definition of judgesnext
plural of judge
1
as in referees
a person who impartially decides or resolves a dispute or controversy their father always played the role of judge when there was a disagreement between the siblings

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2
as in courts
a public official having authority to decide questions of law the judge gave the defendant a suspended sentence

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judges

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of judge
1
2
as in estimates
to decide the size, amount, number, or distance of (something) without actual measurement considering the amount of dough we have, I judge we'll get about six dozen cookies out of it

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of judges
Noun
The lawsuits ask judges to order the local governments to bring their housing plans into compliance with state law. Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 17 July 2026 There’s a lot of disagreement between the judges about who’s on the bottom from the remaining seven designers, though; two will be in, five will be out (and one of those five will be saved). Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 July 2026 The judges there named James Hundley, who had handled criminal and civil cases for more than 30 years, but the administration fired him. Gene Johnson, Fortune, 16 July 2026 More than a dozen such cases have been dismissed by federal judges so far. Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 16 July 2026 Then, the two judges would evaluate; each would buy four desserts, eliminating one. Kansas City Star, 16 July 2026 Part of the drama on America’s Got Talent has always come from friction among the judges, who regularly have very different views of the acts before them. Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 15 July 2026 The judges found her design derivative, especially Nina Garcia. Rodney Ho, AJC.com, 15 July 2026 Entering the gym, Ohashi giggled that so many of the judges from a decade ago were still there. Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
Verb
Which means Beijing is regulating what your fifteen-year-old does after dinner, behind a closed door, with an entity that never tires of them, never judges them, and never has a bad day of its own. Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026 But on the third day of qualifying for Wimbledon 2026, a power outage downed the electronic line-calling system that judges whether shots are in or out, causing matches across 18 courts to be suspended for over an hour. Caoimhe O'Neill, New York Times, 25 June 2026 This time, judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie convinced him to give the show another shot, igniting his journey all the way to the finale. James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 11 June 2026 The truck just leans into the work and gets on with life like a ranch foreman who drinks coffee black and silently judges your hitch setup. New Atlas, 27 May 2026 Portnoy travels to cities around the world and judges their pizza scene by taking a single bite (or more) of a cheese pizza and giving it a review. Irene Wright, USA Today, 26 May 2026 American Idol judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan reacted to Seacrest’s on-air announcement with a mix of shock and confusion. Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 6 Apr. 2026 In episode three, Mary judges Eleanor pretty harshly for her choices with Robert. Brande Victorian, HollywoodReporter, 1 Apr. 2026 The program, which launched last month, gave half a dozen Los Angeles County civil court judges access to AI software called Learned Hand. James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for judges
Noun
  • At the 2026 World Cup, the referees’ job hasn’t gotten easier as the technology around them has improved.
    Oded Netzer, Fortune, 13 July 2026
  • Other volunteer roles include language services for visitors from other countries, event transportation, and accreditation for non-ticket holders such as players and referees.
    Eric Nager, Christian Science Monitor, 13 July 2026
Noun
  • European lawmakers and courts have also looked at FIFA with a critical eye.
    Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 21 July 2026
  • Yet lawyers involved told me that Administration policymakers seemed to want specific proof of a war crime, and since the State Department doesn’t run courts to weigh evidence, the lawyers couldn’t prove anything.
    David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 20 July 2026
Verb
  • One of the kidnappers, Rodrigo (Humberto Busto), decides that the only way to escape getting caught is to kill Felipe.
    Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 17 July 2026
  • Poseidon, upset that Odysseus blinded his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, decides to make his return home difficult and long and wet.
    Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026
Verb
  • The International Energy Agency estimates that pure battery electric vehicle sales rose to about 14 million last year from 11 million in 2024 and should rise further in 2026.
    Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 19 July 2026
  • VisionSpring, a global nonprofit social enterprise supplying affordable glasses to people in poorer countries, estimates that roughly one in three Bangladeshi garment workers need glasses but do not have them.
    Al Emrun Garjon, Fortune, 19 July 2026
Verb
  • Today, approximately 85% of the kingdom’s GDP derives from the non-oil economy.
    Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 14 July 2026
  • Heritage, by comparison, derives its momentum from a much broader mix of categories, with everything from video games and trading cards to sports memorabilia, coins and fine art contributing to its record-breaking first half.
    Daniel Cassady for ARTnews, Robb Report, 13 July 2026
Verb
  • SpaceX thinks Starship's combination of power and reusability will revolutionize spaceflight, allowing humanity to settle the moon and Mars, among other bold exploration feats.
    Mike Wall, Space.com, 16 July 2026
  • Morgentaler, on the other hand, thinks screening even without specific symptoms can provide important insight into a man’s health, and with the right medical oversight, overtreatment can be avoided.
    Annalisa Merelli, STAT, 16 July 2026
Noun
  • Such conditions are hazardous to players, fans, umpires and stadium workers.
    Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
  • But the umpires ruled the shot was complete before the bails were dislodged and Carty was not out.
    ABC News, ABC News, 11 July 2026
Noun
  • The once-quiet judges see a growing threat in a president who personally attacks jurists ruling against him.
    Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 11 July 2026
  • The commission of inquiry, which called on international bodies to hold Israeli officials to account, is composed of three senior international jurists and chaired by the former Indian judge Srinivasan Muralidhar.
    Gerry Shih, Washington Post, 24 June 2026

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“Judges.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/judges. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

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