criterion

[ krahy-teer-ee-uhn ]

noun

, plural cri·te·ri·a [krahy-, teer, -ee-, uh], cri·te·ri·ons.

1. a standard of judgment or criticism; a rule or principle for evaluating or testing something.

   Synonyms: yardstick, touchstone, measure

criterion

/ kraɪˈtɪərɪən /

noun

1. a standard by which something can be judged or decided
2. philosophy a defining characteristic of something

Usage Note

Like some other nouns borrowed from the Greek, criterion has both a Greek plural, criteria, and a plural formed on the English pattern, criterions. However, the -s plural is rarely used; the plural ending in -a is the usual form: These are the criteria for the selection of candidates. Though criteria is properly a plural noun, it is increasingly used as a singular noun, most often in speech but also occasionally in edited prose: One criteria is that the candidate must be over 18. This use of criteria as a singular noun is generally considered incorrect.

Usage

Criteria, the plural of criterion, is not acceptable as a singular noun: this criterion is not valid; these criteria are not valid

Other Words From

• cri·te·ri·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of criterion¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from Greek kritḗrion “a standard,” equivalent to kri- variant stem of krī́nein “to separate, decide” + -tērion neuter suffix of means (akin to Latin -tōrium -tory ² )

Word History and Origins

Origin of criterion¹

C17: from Greek kritērion from kritēs judge, from krinein to decide

Synonym Study

See standard.

Example Sentences

Not only that, he drew a polygon with the fewest possible sides that met these criteria.

From FiveThirtyEight

Employees who meet certain eligibility criteria could receive as much as 600 hours — 15 work weeks — of extra leave time to be paid from a $570 million fund that the bill would create.

From Washington Post

Those criteria are the product of decades of field studies, through which scientists have amassed a vast reference dataset of fossil structures, against which researchers can compare and evaluate any new discoveries.

From Science News

Data can help point us to places where policing practices look the most problematic by these criteria.

From FiveThirtyEight

Participants were all over the age of 18, hadn't received other vaccinations recently, weren't pregnant or drug users, and met a number of other criteria.

From Ars Technica

There was never any one criterion for how every trombone or tenor saxophone or singer should sound.

From The Daily Beast

Twenty years ago, I wrote a critique/appreciation of JM Keynes for the New Criterion.

From The Daily Beast

But we have excluded cases in which there were three fatalities and the shooter also died, per the previous criterion.

From The Daily Beast

According to this criterion, Arab citizens, affiliated with the Palestinian people, inevitably lose out.

From The Daily Beast

He lost on just one criterion, by a landslide 81 points to 18.

From The Daily Beast

Jamie Boswell contended that cookery was the criterion of reason; for that no animal but man did cook.

From Project Gutenberg

This story was a favourite with Abershawe: it afforded him a reliable criterion of his unholy prowess.

From Project Gutenberg

The public seemed to be in that enthusiastic mood which is the true criterion of the success of a work.

From Project Gutenberg

But the nimbus was not worn at all at this early period; such a criterion is therefore inadmissible.

From Project Gutenberg

The position of the loads which gives the greatest moment at C may be settled by the criterion given above.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• benchmark
• norm
• precedent
• principle
• proof
• touchstone
• yardstick

More About Criterion

What does criterion mean?

A criterion is a standard or principle for judging, evaluating, or selecting something. It’s an ideal or requirement on which the judgment, evaluation, or selection is based.

The plural of criterion can be criteria or criterions, but criterions is rarely used.

A criterion is often a certain requirement that someone or something must meet in order to be considered or qualify for something. An applicant for a job may be evaluated based on several criteria, including their education, experience, and references—each one of these standards is a criterion. Your grade in a class may be based on certain criteria, such as your test scores, your grades on homework and other assignments, and your participation in class. Similarly, a gymnast’s score is based on several criteria involving how well they performed certain moves.

The word criteria is often used with the word meet, as in Your entry meets all of our criteria for inclusion in the exhibit. 

Sometimes, people try to use criteria as a singular noun (like how data is sometimes used), but this is generally considered not the right way to use it.

Example: We assess the candidates based on several criteria, and one criterion is that they must have at least five years of experience in a similar position.

Where does criterion come from?

The first records of the word criterion come from the early 1600s. It comes from the Greek kritḗrion, meaning “a standard,” from kritēs, “judge,” from krinein, “to decide.” The word critic and related words like critical and criticism are based on the same root.

The word criterion is always used in the context of some kind of decision, judgment, or evaluation. But it’s not only used in official or formal situations. For example, when shopping for a new TV, you may have several criteria for selecting one that include things like how big it is and how much it costs.

The word criterion appears in the name of the Criterion Collection, a collection of films that are selected because they are thought to be important and to meet a certain standard of cinematic excellence.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to criterion?

• criteria (plural)
• criterions (rarely used plural)
• criterial (adjective)

What are some synonyms for criterion?

• standard
• benchmark
• requirement

What are some words that share a root or word element with criterion? 

• critic
• critical
• criticism

What are some words that often get used in discussing criterion?

• meet
• requirement
• ideal
• inclusion
• judge
• select
• choose
• eligible
• measure
• collection

How is criterion used in real life?

Criterion is typically used in situations in which things are being judged or evaluated in some way. The plural criteria is even more common (since things are usually evaluated based on multiple criteria instead of just a single criterion).

At Fox, one former staffer said, the main criterion for choosing a story is whether it will inflame viewers: https://t.co/ZrNArQtnzO pic.twitter.com/CKOL0dGVQF

— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) March 8, 2019

When “fitting in” becomes the main criterion for hiring, workplaces become echo chambers: http://t.co/Ac5Q1b3IBN pic.twitter.com/CzgUTK5MoB

— Canadian Business (@cdnbiz) October 5, 2015

The main reason I fell into fantasy was that when I was a kid, my one criterion for "book I'd probably like to read" was "is it fat enough to be used as a doorstopper so it lasts me a long time?" and fantasy novels tended to be LONG at the time so.

— Max Flynn (@ardyforshort) June 10, 2019

 

Try using criterion!

Is criterion used correctly in the following sentence?

What’s your most important criterion for choosing a roommate?