verdict
Americannoun
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verdicts
plural
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Law. the finding or answer of a jury given to the court concerning a matter submitted to their judgment.
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a judgment; decision.
the verdict of the critics.
noun
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the findings of a jury on the issues of fact submitted to it for examination and trial; judgment
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any decision, judgment, or conclusion
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of verdict
1250–1300; Middle English < Medieval Latin vērdictum, variant of vērēdictum literally, something said truly; replacing Middle English verdit < Anglo-French < Latin vērum dictum true word
Explanation
A verdict is a decision made after a lot of considering, usually made by the jury in a courtroom. If you've finally decided that the test was unfair, that's your verdict and you should talk to the teacher about it. Although verdicts are usually announced in a courtroom, any time someone makes a judgment about something, it's a verdict. The truth lies in the root of this word: ver comes from the Latin verus, meaning "true." Ver shows up in other words — to verify something is to prove that it's true, and veracious is an adjective meaning "truthful." And the truth is exactly what the judge needs when he's trying to decide the verdict of a case.
Vocabulary lists containing verdict
You Can Say That Again: Dic and Dict
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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And Then There Were None
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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.
See Examples For:
The Premier League leaders have appealed but, if the guilty verdict remains, potential sanctions could have a significant impact on the table.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
A federal jury reached a verdict last week in the latest lawsuit surrounding the burgeoning market for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Over plates of seafood, the president delivered his verdict, according to Maillard who was in attendance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
As for whether or not it ultimately leads to declines in the broader index, history doesn’t offer a clear verdict.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Of course the verdict was an open one.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
Hashim Thaci was convicted in one of the final verdicts in a series of landmark trials arising from the bloody dissolution of the former Yugoslavia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
County prosecutors from seeking death verdicts, a policy Hochman wiped away when he took office in late 2024.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
The percentage of civil verdicts that dealt with exit bans also surged more than 30 times between 2019 and 2025, from around 0.23% to 7.3%.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
While he was convicted in August of criminal damage, the trial of all eight defendants on other charges came to a halt when the jury failed to reach any other verdicts.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
He explained to me that verdicts weren’t set aside just like that, for nothing.
From "The Stranger" by Albert Camus
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.
