verdict
Americannoun
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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
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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Twelve Angry Men
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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.
Appeared in the December 6, 2025, print edition as 'Greenpeace Asks a Dutch Court to Reverse an American Verdict'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
In Apple’s news category, Verdict usually hangs in about the top 30 to 50 shows—ahead of full-time media personalities such as Alex Jones, Chuck Todd, Sean Hannity, and Jen Psaki.
From Slate • Aug. 20, 2025
Verdict: Lots with chances but Senior Chief could still be improving, while Hewick looks primed to run well.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2025
After two years of acting in various off-Broadway and summer-stock productions, MacRae made her television debut in the courtroom drama “The Verdict Is Yours” in 1958.
From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2024
And here I leaue her the last of this companie, to the Verdict of the Gentlemen of the Iurie of life and death, as hereafter shall appeare.
From Discovery of Witches The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster by Potts, Thomas, fl. 1612-1618
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.
