decision
Americannoun
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decisions
plural
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the act or process of deciding; determination, as of a question or doubt, by making a judgment.
They must make a decision between these two contestants.
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the act of or need for making up one's mind.
This is a difficult decision.
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something that is decided; resolution.
She made a poor decision when she dropped out of school.
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a judgment, as one formally pronounced by a court.
It is the decision of this court that the appeal is granted.
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the quality of being decided; firmness.
He spoke with decision and calm authority.
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the final score in any sport or contest.
The decision was 5 to 4 in favor of the home team.
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Boxing. the awarding of a victory in a match not decided by a knockout or technical knockout, usually through a vote of the referee and judges.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a judgment, conclusion, or resolution reached or given; verdict
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the act of making up one's mind
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firmness of purpose or character; determination
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of decision
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English decisioun, from Middle French, from Latin dēcīsiōn-, stem of dēcīsiō “a cutting off,” equivalent to dēcīs(us) (past participle of dēcīdere “to cut off”; see decide) + -iō -ion
Explanation
To make a decision is to make up your mind about something. To act with decision is to proceed with determination, which might be a natural character trait. Decision originally comes from the Latin decidere ("determine"). You make decisions every day: what to wear, what to eat, how to spend your money, who to vote for, what movie to go to. A court judge makes a decision in a trial (and actually "hands down" or "announces" that decision). If judges make the decision in a boxing match, the winner wins "by decision." More loosely, decision can also refer to the outcome of any game or contest.
Vocabulary lists containing decision
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 1
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ion, -tion, -ation
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President Obama's second inaugural address
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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:
Prince Harry is opening up about his and wife Meghan Markle’s unexpected decision earlier this year to move back to the United Kingdom years after their dramatic fallout with the British royal family.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
It is widely believed in Westminster that Jackdaw will be approved but that a decision on the Rosebank oil field off Shetland will not yet be made.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
"The FAA's decision follows a thorough review of the aircraft's design and safety requirements," said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
The city spokeswoman said the council stepped in only because Damac had appealed the decision.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
I had just started locing my hair and I made the unwise decision to roll around and get sand all through it.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Target-date funds aren’t necessarily built to handle many of the decisions retirees face.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
Burnham - Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas decisions coming 'shortly'
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
She was a teenage girl suddenly saddled with the fate of a country, tasked with making decisions well beyond her purview or experience.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
Instead, the results underscore the difficulty of presenting complex meteorological information in a way that people can readily interpret and use when making safety decisions.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026
Chilton decided that he couldn’t and relegated him to his old role of analyzing companies for the guy who actually made the investment decisions.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
