decide
Americanverb (used with object)
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to solve or conclude (a question, controversy, or struggle) by giving victory to one side.
The judge decided the case in favor of the plaintiff.
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to determine or settle (something in dispute or doubt).
to decide an argument.
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to bring (a person) to a decision; persuade or convince.
The new evidence decided him.
verb (used without object)
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to settle something in dispute or doubt.
The judge decided in favor of the plaintiff.
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to make a judgment or determine a preference; come to a conclusion.
verb
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(may take a clause or an infinitive as object; when intr, sometimes foll by on or about) to reach a decision
decide what you want
he decided to go
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(tr) to cause (a person) to reach a decision
the weather decided me against going
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(tr) to determine or settle (a contest or question)
he decided his future plans
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(tr) to influence decisively the outcome of (a contest or question)
Borg's stamina decided the match
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(intr; foll by for or against) to pronounce a formal verdict
Usage
What are other ways to say decide?
To decide is to settle something in dispute or doubt. How is it different from resolve and determine? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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decidesimple
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decidessimple
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have decidedperfect
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has decidedperfect
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am decidingprogressive
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are decidingprogressive
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is decidingprogressive
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have been decidingperfect progressive
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has been decidingperfect progressive
Past
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decidedsimple
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had decidedperfect
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was decidingprogressive
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were decidingprogressive
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had been decidingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of decide
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English deciden, from Middle French decider, from Latin dēcīdere, literally, “to cut off,” equivalent to dē- de- + -cīdere (combining form of caedere “to strike, cut down”; see -cide ( def. ))
Explanation
To decide is to make up your mind to do (or not do) something. People decide hundreds of things a day, from what to eat to what TV shows to watch. Deciding involves making decisions — choosing what to do. There are a lot of things in life to decide, such as where to live, what school to go to, where to apply for a job, and what kind of clothes to buy and wear. At any restaurant, there are hundreds of options: you have to decide which is right for you. You can also say that if a touchdown ended a game, it decided the game.
Vocabulary lists containing decide
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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5th Grade Government Vocabulary, List 1
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"Zlateh the Goat"
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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:
This would have included the value of an individual's home in the means test used to decide what state funding they could get for care in their own homes.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
"It has taken me some time to understand the diagnosis, to adjust to it, and to decide how much I wanted to say about it publicly," Simon wrote.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Nathan Hochman said last week his office had yet to decide whether they will seek capital punishment in the case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
The bot’s report shows a table comparing its assumptions for those four value drivers for SpaceX against the market’s assumptions, letting investors decide for themselves which numbers look reasonable.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
I decide on the latter and I find that, for once, I’m smiling as Bo and I turn and head back to the path.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
They all stand to benefit from a peptide boom if the Food and Drug Administration decides to reclassify seven peptides, allowing these products to be legally compounded.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Schiller attends an informational seminar by a broker for Medicare Advantage plans and decides, unhelpfully, that they are neither “a solution or a problem.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
In an era when politics has never been more visual, he'll need to dress to impress, whatever he decides to wear.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Whatever it decides, with Mr. Petro in a meltdown over Mr. Cepeda’s loss, it falls to lawmakers, the courts and military to uphold the rule of law.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
My body feels like it's floating in a dream, until a mosquito decides to bite me.
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
Earlier this year, Ifab decided against changing the law and invited leagues to volunteer for trials.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
On Friday, however, Sabre Fadoul told AFP "it was not at the Americans' request that we decided to withdraw from the ICC".
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
I decided to talk to some experts and conduct my own personal hydration experiment to find out whether the claims are legitimate or basically all bull.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Lithwick: Chase decided, in a very truncated opinion, that Turner’s apprenticeship violated the 13th Amendment’s prohibition of involuntary servitude and the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Although I’d decided that I was not going back to school, now I was grasping for anything that might change his mind.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Gemma Hayter took her to another deciding leg but Greaves came through in style against the darts, producing a 104 checkout to reach the final.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Bianco said a divided Fed could be Powell’s “nightmare scenario,” because if the Fed committee is divided, he might cast the deciding vote.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
But no one really knows anything about Darline Graham, so a few others are deciding to give it a shot.
From Slate ● Jul. 25, 2026
The FDA is deciding whether seven peptides can be legally compounded, potentially opening the door to broader use in Americans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
For the successful fencer, deciding when and which parry to use is the ultimate physical and mental skill.
From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
