judge

noun

\ ˈjəj

Essential Meaning of judge

1 law : a person who has the power to make decisions on cases brought before a court of law a federal judge She's one of the strictest judges in the state.

2 : a person who decides the winner in a contest or competition He served as a judge at the baking contest. a panel of judges

3 : a person who makes a decision or judgment "These problems don't concern you." "I'll be the judge of that!" [=I'll decide if they concern me; I am not interested in your opinion] "I don't think we should trust her." "Let me be the judge of that."

Full Definition of judge

(Entry 1 of 2)

: one who makes judgments: such as

a : a public official authorized to decide questions brought before a court

b : one appointed to decide in a contest or competition : umpire

c : one who gives an authoritative opinion

d : critic

e often capitalized : a tribal hero exercising leadership among the Hebrews after the death of Joshua

judge

verb

judged; judging

Definition of judge (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to form an opinion about through careful weighing of evidence and testing of premises

2 : to form an estimate or evaluation of trying to judge the amount of time required especially : to form a negative opinion about shouldn't judge him because of his accent

3 : to hold as an opinion : guess, think I judge she knew what she was doing

4 : to sit in judgment on : try judge a case

5 : to determine or pronounce after inquiry and deliberation They judged him guilty.

6 : govern, rule —used of a Hebrew tribal leader

intransitive verb

1 : to form an opinion

2 : to decide as a judge

Other Words from judge Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More About judge

Choose the Right Synonym for judge

Verb

infer, deduce, conclude, judge, gather mean to arrive at a mental conclusion. infer implies arriving at a conclusion by reasoning from evidence; if the evidence is slight, the term comes close to surmise. from that remark, I inferred that they knew each other deduce often adds to infer the special implication of drawing a particular inference from a generalization. denied we could deduce anything important from human mortality conclude implies arriving at a necessary inference at the end of a chain of reasoning. concluded that only the accused could be guilty judge stresses a weighing of the evidence on which a conclusion is based. judge people by their actions gather suggests an intuitive forming of a conclusion from implications. gathered their desire to be alone without a word

Examples of judge in a Sentence

Noun She's one of the strictest judges in the state. He served as a judge at the baking contest. “I don't think we should trust her.” “Let me be the judge of that.” She is a good judge of character. Verb You should not judge people by their appearance. He was trying to judge the strength of his opponent. We should do whatever we judge to be the right thing. Who are you to judge me? He feels that they have judged him unfairly. Don't judge her too severely. The jury will be asked to judge the defendant's guilt. If you are accused of a crime you have the right to be judged by a jury of your peers.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The judge declined to reconsider his opinion but said the parties could return to his court for additional arguments. — Elissa Robinson, Detroit Free Press, 22 Jan. 2022 That document was sent to the the office of Vice President Mike Pence, the Michigan Secretary of State, the National Archivist and the chief judge of the western district of Michigan, Nessel said earlier this week. — Dave Boucher, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2022 But the prosecutor urged the judge to remember the vulnerable victims. — Carrie Teegardin, ajc, 21 Jan. 2022 Carter posted on Twitter his account of the April 30 incident his family had with Karren in a parking lot behind the judge's courtroom in downtown Bentonville. — Tracy Neal, Arkansas Online, 21 Jan. 2022 The judge ruled in April that the children could move back home with their parents. — Michelle Theriault Boots, Anchorage Daily News, 21 Jan. 2022 Shibbir Chowdhury said his father didn’t understand everything that was said but that the judge’s message was clear to him. — Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2022 Wilenchik then filed a request to remove Hannah, claiming the judge was biased. — Ryan Randazzo, The Arizona Republic, 21 Jan. 2022 The judge in the case stressed repeatedly that fellow Officer Derek Chauvin’s conviction on state murder charges and guilty plea to a federal civil rights violation should not influence the proceedings. — Laura Blasey, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Okay, do not judge me, do not read me, but Lady Gaga is always my No. 1. — Stephen Daw, Billboard, 18 Jan. 2022 Kevin's biological parents remain unknown, but Mercurio said the family does not judge them. — Catherine Garcia, The Week, 14 Dec. 2021 But the players have hard statistics to judge them by while team President Jed Hoyer might use a variety of criteria to assess the merits of Ross and the coaches. — Paul Sullivan, chicagotribune.com, 19 Sep. 2021 Stardew Valley is a nicer world than ours, a world that doesn’t judge you, and getting lost there for a while can be a great way to relieve stress and anxiety. — Simon Hill, Wired, 9 Sep. 2021 These encounters can escalate and become violent, requiring police and paramedics to judge the person’s mental state and intentions. — Julie Washington, cleveland, 3 Jan. 2022 A year into an Administration is not the right time to judge its record. — Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 30 Dec. 2021 Residency-training directors no longer have hard criteria on which to judge applicants for hospital training in the specialties. — WSJ, 28 Dec. 2021 The government, on the other hand, offered the jury a framework to judge Holmes' accusations against her former boyfriend. — Miles Cohen, ABC News, 20 Dec. 2021

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

History and Etymology for judge

Noun

Middle English juge, from Anglo-French, from Latin judex — see judge entry 2

Verb

Middle English juggen, from Anglo-French juger, from Latin judicare, from judic-, judex judge, from jus right, law + dicere to decide, say — more at just, diction

Learn More About judge

Dictionary Entries Near judge

Judg

judge

judge advocate

Statistics for judge

Last Updated

23 Jan 2022

Cite this Entry

“Judge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/judge. Accessed 24 Jan. 2022.

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More Definitions for judge

judge

verb

\ ˈjəj

judged; judging

Kids Definition of judge

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : to form an opinion after careful consideration I judged the distance badly.

2 : to act with authority to reach a decision (as in a trial)

3 : think sense 1 What do you judge is the best solution?

4 : to form an opinion of in comparison with others She judged pies at the fair.

judge

noun

Kids Definition of judge (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : a public official whose duty is to decide questions brought before a court

2 : a person appointed to decide in a contest or competition

3 : a person with the experience to give a meaningful opinion : critic He's a good judge of talent.

judge

verb

\ ˈjəj

judged; judging

Legal Definition of judge

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to hear and decide (as a litigated question) in a court of justice judge a case

2 : to pronounce after inquiry and deliberation he was judged incompetent

intransitive verb

: to make a determination : decide judge between two accounts

judge

noun

Legal Definition of judge (Entry 2 of 2)

: a public official vested with the authority to hear, determine, and preside over legal matters brought in court also : one (as a justice of the peace) who performs one or more functions of such an official