criterion

[krahy-teer-ee-uhn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR criterion ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural cri·te·ri·a [krahy-teer-ee-uh] /kraɪˈtɪər i ə/, cri·te·ri·ons.

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

Origin of criterion

1605–15; < Greek kritḗrion a standard, equivalent to kri- variant stem of krī́nein to separate, decide + -tērion neuter suffix of means (akin to Latin -tōrium -tory²)

Related formscri·te·ri·al, adjective

Can be confusedcriteria criterion (see usage note at the current entry)

Synonyms for criterion

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR criterion ON THESAURUS.COM

measure, touchstone, yardstick. See standard.

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. The plural in -a occurs with far greater frequency than does the -s plural: These are the criteria for the selection of candidates. Although criteria is sometimes used as a singular, most often in speech and only infrequently in edited prose, in standard English, it is more clearly used as a plural with criterion as the singular.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for criteria

touchstone, benchmark, principle, yardstick, precedent, norm, proof, foundation, scale, basis, pattern, original, canon, rule, standard, prototype, exemplar, measure, opinion, model

Examples from the Web for criteria

Contemporary Examples of criteria

These decisions and criteria are referred to as “appropriateness.”
Are Routine Scans Causing Cancer?
Dale Eisinger
September 17, 2014
Some medical experts also argue that some of the criteria do not reflect the true nature of disease and suffering.
How OITNB Flubbed Compassionate Release
Rachel Nuwer
June 13, 2014
And while most states have compassionate release programs, the rules and criteria for each are different.
How OITNB Flubbed Compassionate Release
Rachel Nuwer
June 13, 2014
An avowed creationist who consults for a food lobby hardly seems an appropriate choice to fulfill these criteria.
The Heart Association’s Junk Science Diet
Dr. Barbara H. Roberts
May 22, 2014
Does campaigning for others who are actual merchants have to itself meet their criteria?
Sex Workers Deserve Health Care, Too
Tauriq Moosa
May 20, 2014

Historical Examples of criteria

There are three criteria of goodness—beauty, symmetry, truth.
Philebus
Plato
It concerns in part the criteria of valuation in the field of the social life.
The Psychology of Nations
G.E. Partridge
The grounds for rejecting the criteria of the Roman law have been shown above.
The Common Law
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
These, it is said, are the criteria of progress; all else is misleading.
The Complete Essays of C. D. Warner
Charles Dudley Warner
The main technique is study and constant reexamination of criteria.
The Armed Forces Officer
U. S. Department of Defense

British Dictionary definitions for criteria

criterion

noun plural -ria (-rɪə) or -rions

a standard by which something can be judged or decided

philosophy a defining characteristic of something

Word Origin for criterion

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

usage

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for criteria

1620s, plural of criterion (q.v.).

criterion

1660s, from Latinized form of Greek kriterion "means for judging, standard," from krites "judge," from PIE root *krei- (see crisis). Used in English as a Greek word from 1610s.