Word of the Day

: August 7, 2025

adjudicate

play
verb uh-JOO-dih-kayt

What It Means

To adjudicate a dispute between two parties is to make an official decision about which party is right; to adjudicate a case or claim is to settle it judicially. Adjudicate is also used to mean “to act as judge.”

// The case will be adjudicated in the state courts.

// The property title cannot be transferred until a case concerning the affected rights of way is adjudicated.

See the entry >

adjudicate in Context

“… [Pete] Rose’s candidacy won’t be adjudicated on the writers’ ballot. According to the Hall’s voting rules, players who are retired for more than 15 years are considered not by 400-plus writers but rather a smaller ‘era committee,’ comprised of a mixture of former players, executives, and media members.” — Scott Lauber, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 14 May 2025


Did You Know?

Adjudicate, which is usually used to mean “to make an official decision about who is right in a dispute,” is one of several terms that give testimony to the influence of jus, the Latin word for “law,” on our legal language. Others include judgment, judicial, prejudice, jury, justice, injury, and perjury. What’s the verdict? Latin “law” words frequently preside in English-speaking courtrooms.



Name That Synonym

Unscramble the letters to create a synonym of adjudicate: EATRRBITA.

VIEW THE ANSWER

Podcast


More Words of the Day

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!