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
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.
On its official website, the court advertises itself to visitors as the “final arbiter of the law,” and thus the Constitution’s “guardian and interpreter.”
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026
"Under its rules the referee is the sole arbiter of the contest and retains the full and unfettered right to stop the contest at any time," it said.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
"He does not appear to have the ability to play the role of balancer-in-chief and final arbiter of the system to the extent that his father did."
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
For Tucci, who is an arbiter of taste in the culinary world, that trip to Olive Garden appears to have been a one and done.
From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2026
Short-cropped salt- and-pepper hair, glasses, he was a patient, almost invisible arbiter of justice with an occasional strained pitch in his voice to punctuate the frustrations this case had inspired in him.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
