arbiter
Americannoun
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a person empowered to decide matters at issue; judge; umpire.
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a person who has the sole or absolute power of judging or determining.
noun
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a person empowered to judge in a dispute; referee; arbitrator
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a person having complete control of something
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of arbiter
1350–1400; Middle English arbitour, arbitre < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin arbiter
Compare meaning
How does arbiter compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
An arbiter is someone selected to judge and settle a dispute. When Doc and Grumpy disagreed over whose turn it was to stay late at the mine, they chose Snow White as an arbiter. Arbiter, from the Latin, means "one who goes somewhere as witness or judge.” The arbiter of a baseball game is called an umpire. In football and basketball, the arbiter is a referee. Arbitration is a type of conflict resolution in which a neutral person — the arbiter — hears the details of a dispute and makes a legally-binding decision about its resolution.
Vocabulary lists containing arbiter
Frankenstein
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 19–24
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The Picture of Dorian Gray
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The other notable character is the Arbiter, who functions primarily, and exhaustingly, as narrator, portrayed with brittle humor by Bryce Pinkham.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025
Imagine if William did respond publicly, Arbiter said: It would descend to “He says, he says, she says, she says.”
From Washington Post • Jan. 10, 2023
“They’re not doing the palace’s work for it,” said Dickie Arbiter, who served as a spokesman for the queen from 1988 to 2000.
From New York Times • Dec. 2, 2022
“Don’t kill off the queen quite yet,” said Dickie Arbiter, 81, the queen’s press former secretary, who is now a prolific commentator on the royal family.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2022
Gonzague’s ambition appeared to be to play the Petronius part, to be the Arbiter of Elegancies to a newly liberated king and a newly quickened court.
From The Duke's Motto A Melodrama by McCarthy, Justin H. (Justin Huntly)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
