arbitrate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to decide as arbitrator or arbiter; determine.
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to submit to arbitration; settle by arbitration.
to arbitrate a dispute.
verb (used without object)
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to act as arbitrator or arbiter; decide between opposing or contending parties or sides.
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to submit a matter to arbitration.
verb
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to settle or decide (a dispute); achieve a settlement between parties
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to submit to or settle by arbitration
Usage
What does arbitrate mean? To arbitrate is to act as an arbitrator—an independent, impartial third party that works to settle a dispute between two opposing sides, often by making a decision that they both agree to. This process is called arbitration. Arbitrate can also mean to engage in arbitration, as in If we can’t come to an agreement, we may need to arbitrate. For a process to be considered arbitration, it must involve an arbitrator, which can be a single person or a team of people. The terms arbitrate and arbitration are especially used in the context of negotiations between businesses and labor unions. When the two sides can’t agree and negotiations are unproductive, they may agree or be ordered to arbitrate. An arbitration process in which the arbitrator’s decision must be accepted by both parties is sometimes called binding arbitration—meaning the arbitrator’s decision is final and legally binding. The word arbitrate can also be used in a more general way meaning "to determine or settle a dispute," similar to the word mediate. However, arbitrate often implies that the process is a formal one. Example: After weeks of negotiations stalled and resulted in an impasse, the two sides agreed to enter arbitration.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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arbitratornoun
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rearbitrateverb
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arbitrableadjective
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arbitrativeadjective
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unarbitratedadjective
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unarbitrativeadjective
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well-arbitratedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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arbitratesimple
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arbitratessimple
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have arbitratedperfect
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has arbitratedperfect
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am arbitratingprogressive
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are arbitratingprogressive
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is arbitratingprogressive
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have been arbitratingperfect progressive
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has been arbitratingperfect progressive
Past
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arbitratedsimple
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had arbitratedperfect
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was arbitratingprogressive
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were arbitratingprogressive
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had been arbitratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of arbitrate
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin arbitrātus “decided, judged,” past participle of arbitrārī “to decide, judge,” from arbit(e)r arbiter
Explanation
If your two best friends are fighting over the last piece of gum in the pack, you might arbitrate by telling them to split the last piece. Arbitrate is when a neutral third party helps end a conflict. Arbitrate derives from the Latin arbiter "judge." (An arbiter of taste is a good judge of taste.) When you arbitrate, you are doing what a judge does in a court of law. In the US, to avoid litigation, many choose non-binding arbitration—where a neutral third party suggests a settlement.
Vocabulary lists containing arbitrate
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Crucible
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 1–6
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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:
Instead, Wilhelm learned that the fate of his bet was up to a loosely organized body of cryptocurrency holders empowered to arbitrate such disputes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
The program also includes legal benefits, including the ability to arbitrate disputes abroad at independent tribunals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
It's hard to say, and I will leave it to more influential jungle heads, and the infinitely wise question setters on University Challenge, to arbitrate.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2024
The new law will take effect when it’s published in the country’s official bulletin, at which time courts will no longer arbitrate what journalists can write.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
He took charge, stripping away the right to strike and appointing Judge Samuel Alschuler as federal administrator to arbitrate all disputes between the packers and the union.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
Bodner challenged his firing soon after with Finra, which arbitrates employment disputes brought by brokers and advisers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
He arbitrates disputes, much like any TV judge, but his show lacks the self-serious demeanor of other shows that try to replicate a real-life courtroom, she said.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 11, 2022
So the Advisory Commission, which arbitrates between the victims of spoliation and the holders of disputed cultural property, is often claimants’ only recourse.
From New York Times ● Jan. 25, 2021
Instead, they’re pushing for a complete overhaul of the system by which the university arbitrates sexual harassment claims.
From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2017
He is not just who arbitrates by will.
From The Buddha's Path of Virtue A Translation of the Dhammapada by Woodward, Frank Lee
And while she could still lose her team gold once the case is arbitrated later — and any other medal she wins — Valieva for now is cleared to pursue her Olympic dream.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 14, 2022
When she began working for Tesla, Barraza signed an agreement requiring any employment law claims be arbitrated outside of the court system.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 19, 2021
Apart from stating that arbitrated payments to publishers must be made in lump sums, the new amendments also clarify that the panel must consider costs incurred by the platforms and by the news businesses.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 16, 2021
On the internet, where this story is being arbitrated in lieu of our court system, which lost control of it, I’ve ventured a few distrusting comments recently about Mr. Epstein’s befuddling demise.
From New York Times ● Aug. 14, 2019
I assumed Baeh was honoring the traditional Confucian structure of community, where in each village a prominent elder man heard the townspeople’s grievances and arbitrated and ruled.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
Finally, in 1872, with Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm arbitrating, the San Juan Islands were granted to the United States.
From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2024
The academy, charged with coining Hebrew words to keep up with the times and maintaining grammatical standards, finds itself arbitrating between linguistic anarchy and societal change.
From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2022
Other kinds of transportation workers who typically do not cross state lines may use Monday's decision to argue that they also are exempt from arbitrating wage lawsuits.
From Reuters ● Jun. 6, 2022
For more than a decade, "Judge Judy" has been syndication's most popular show with the tart-talking New Yorker arbitrating small claims cases.
From Fox News ● Sep. 10, 2021
He was opposed to arbitrating the Behring Sea question when Lord Salisbury, at the dictation of Canada, had to repudiate the Blaine agreement for its settlement, and was disposed to proceed to extreme measures.
From Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie by Van Dyke, John Charles
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.
