criterion

American  

[krahy-teer-ee-uhn] / kraɪˈtɪər i ən /

Rarely criterium

noun

• criteria,
  plural
• criterions
  plural

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

   Synonyms:

   yardstick, touchstone, measure

---

criterion British  

/ kraɪˈtɪərɪən /

noun

1. a standard by which something can be judged or decided

2. philosophy a defining characteristic of something

---

Usage

Like some other nouns borrowed from the Greek, criterion has both a Greek plural, criteria, and a plural formed on the English pattern, criterions. However, the -s plural is rarely used; the plural ending in -a is the usual form: These are the criteria for the selection of candidates. Though criteria is properly a plural noun, it is increasingly used as a singular noun, most often in speech but also occasionally in edited prose: One criteria is that the candidate must be over 18. This use of criteria as a singular noun is generally considered incorrect.

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

Synonym Usage

See standard.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• criterial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• criteria
  plural
• criterions
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of criterion

First recorded in 1605–15; from Greek kritḗrion “a standard,” equivalent to kri- variant stem of krī́nein “to separate, decide” + -tērion neuter suffix of means (akin to Latin -tōrium -tory ² )

---

Explanation

A criterion is a standard for judging something. If you are holding a cupcake competition, your number one criterion might be the smoothness of frosting. A criterion is a category for judging, but can also be a prerequisite for an achievement. It might be an application requirement for a teaching job that you have taught already for two years. If you haven’t, then we say you haven’t "met the criterion" for job experience. Likewise, if you establish the model for something, say you deliver an exciting, profound graduation speech, we might say you "set the criterion" for future speakers.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

criterion criteria criterions

Treating the Lawson criterion as a single unchanging threshold overlooks physical processes that can substantially alter the requirements for ignition.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026

Mr. Diamond’s emphasis on common benchmarks for success—a country’s economic growth, a corporation’s profits—leaves unexplored the possibility that each unique leader might harbor his or her own criterion of achievement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Back at Ratchford's office on the third day, he figured a way around the problematic income criterion.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

"Coolness and summer comfort have become a property criterion in their own right," she said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Within months, pretty much everyone had given up Klebs’s criterion for Luce’s criteria.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Next season, however, all it would take is being among the top 24 teams as deemed by the 13-member committee, which considers on-field performance, head-to-head results and strength of schedule the primary criteria.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

"We chose Shell because it's an emblematic company. It meets all the criteria," Thales Miola, a lawyer for the Brazilian NGO Instituto Preservar, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

That keeps environmental, social and governance criteria relevant for bond buyers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

In response, Saracens chief executive Ed Coetzee says the surface is kept under "constant review" and meets all maintenance and safety criteria.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

The first evidence for tool production dates from about 2.5 million years ago, and the manufacture and use of tools are the criteria by which archaeologists recognise ancient humans.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Consequently it has become evident that the four criterions or standards of judgment by which the human mind reaches its conclusions are faulty and inaccurate.

From Foundations of World Unity by `Abdu'l-Bahá

First, they are no more the criterions of obeisance and respect, than mourning garments are the criterions of sorrow.

From A Portraiture of Quakerism, Volume 1 by Thomas Clarkson

That is to say, there are four criterions or standards of judgment by which the human mind reaches its conclusions.

From Foundations of World Unity by `Abdu'l-Bahá

The teachers and the boys alike know that they are never true criterions of progress, that they are seldom even fair representations of the actual course of study.

From Maids Wives and Bachelors by Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr

But if these be fallible criterions, we will notice another that seldom deceives us. 

From The Rain Cloud or, An Account of the Nature, Properties, Dangers and Uses of Rain in Various Parts of the World by Charles Tomlinson

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• benchmark
• norm
• precedent
• principle
• proof
• touchstone
• yardstick

---