as in referee
a person who impartially decides or resolves a dispute or controversy
the dean of student affairs is the proper arbiter when a student disputes a grade
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Recent Examples of arbiter
And the National Toxicity Program, which is the ultimate arbiter of the toxicity of environmental exposures, have found that even small exposures to fluoride reduce IQ by a point, a point-and-a-half, and the larger exposures by much more.
—
Will Carless, USA Today, 22 Jan. 2026
Still, Ternus isn’t the final arbiter for design decisions, which have been made by consensus for several years.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2026
Yet, this attempt misses the mark by making the state the arbiter of what’s appropriate for young Floridians.
—Kevin Frazier, Sun Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2026
So the markets are the ultimate arbiter of over whether the Fed’s independence is being impugned.
—NBC news, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for arbiter
Will Carless, USA Today, 22 Jan. 2026
Still, Ternus isn’t the final arbiter for design decisions, which have been made by consensus for several years.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2026
Yet, this attempt misses the mark by making the state the arbiter of what’s appropriate for young Floridians.
—Kevin Frazier, Sun Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2026
So the markets are the ultimate arbiter of over whether the Fed’s independence is being impugned.
—NBC news, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for arbiter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arbiter
Noun
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In a separate clip, Durant had a towel around his neck as the confrontation with the fan continued during a play stoppage for a referee’s video review.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
25 Jan. 2026
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Perez rolled up Iyo but the referee held up the count because Rhea was late breaking it up.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Preparing evidence for a judge to review is time-consuming at a time when the White House is pressuring ICE to arrest millions.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Jan. 2026
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In addition to the five-year prison term, a judge ordered Tuipulotu to serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution.—
Jason Green,
Mercury News,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Smith’s crew is set to include Roy Ellison (umpire), Eugene Hall (side judge), Greg Steed (back judge), Dana McKenzie (down judge), Julian Mapp (line judge), Jason Ledet (field judge) and Andrew Lambert (replay official).—
Senior Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
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Years ago, Major League Baseball had a crisis in which umpires notoriously had their own versions of the strike zone for batters.—
Steve Forbes,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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An arbitration hearing enables the Royals and a player — including his agent and attorney — to have a panel of neutral arbitrators determine the value of the player’s contract for the coming season (in this case, 2026).—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
9 Jan. 2026
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Ryan’s 2026 salary will likely be settled by a panel by arbitrators in the coming weeks.—
Betsy Helfand,
Twin Cities,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Arbiter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arbiter. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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