decide
Americanverb (used with object)
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to solve or conclude (a question, controversy, or struggle) by giving victory to one side.
The judge decided the case in favor of the plaintiff.
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to determine or settle (something in dispute or doubt).
to decide an argument.
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to bring (a person) to a decision; persuade or convince.
The new evidence decided him.
verb (used without object)
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to settle something in dispute or doubt.
The judge decided in favor of the plaintiff.
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to make a judgment or determine a preference; come to a conclusion.
verb
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(may take a clause or an infinitive as object; when intr, sometimes foll by on or about) to reach a decision
decide what you want
he decided to go
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(tr) to cause (a person) to reach a decision
the weather decided me against going
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(tr) to determine or settle (a contest or question)
he decided his future plans
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(tr) to influence decisively the outcome of (a contest or question)
Borg's stamina decided the match
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(intr; foll by for or against) to pronounce a formal verdict
Usage
What are other ways to say decide?
To decide is to settle something in dispute or doubt. How is it different from resolve and determine? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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decidesimple
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decidessimple
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have decidedperfect
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has decidedperfect
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am decidingprogressive
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are decidingprogressive
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is decidingprogressive
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have been decidingperfect progressive
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has been decidingperfect progressive
Past
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decidedsimple
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had decidedperfect
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was decidingprogressive
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were decidingprogressive
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had been decidingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of decide
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English deciden, from Middle French decider, from Latin dēcīdere, literally, “to cut off,” equivalent to dē- de- + -cīdere (combining form of caedere “to strike, cut down”; see -cide ( def. ))
Explanation
To decide is to make up your mind to do (or not do) something. People decide hundreds of things a day, from what to eat to what TV shows to watch. Deciding involves making decisions — choosing what to do. There are a lot of things in life to decide, such as where to live, what school to go to, where to apply for a job, and what kind of clothes to buy and wear. At any restaurant, there are hundreds of options: you have to decide which is right for you. You can also say that if a touchdown ended a game, it decided the game.
Vocabulary lists containing decide
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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5th Grade Government Vocabulary, List 1
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"Zlateh the Goat"
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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:
It means a parole board must decide if he is ever safe to be released.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
"It has taken me some time to understand the diagnosis, to adjust to it, and to decide how much I wanted to say about it publicly," Simon wrote.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Nathan Hochman said last week his office had yet to decide whether they will seek capital punishment in the case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
MarketWatch: If someone has money to invest, would you trust AI to help decide where it goes?
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
“Everyone makes sacrifices. A man needs to decide what price he’s willing to pay to live free.”
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
They all stand to benefit from a peptide boom if the Food and Drug Administration decides to reclassify seven peptides, allowing these products to be legally compounded.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Another novel might find Rose, after she decides she loves Miles so much that she wants to get pregnant, going to a doctor, getting tests, worrying about being almost 40 and what that means.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Whatever it decides, with Mr. Petro in a meltdown over Mr. Cepeda’s loss, it falls to lawmakers, the courts and military to uphold the rule of law.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
It decides who receives the bronze medals and who is officially fourth.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
“If you don’t mind me saying, you look rather cold and tired. Come sit by the fire until the weather decides to be friendlier and we can all go about our day.”
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
In June 2026, the Japanese government decided to raise visa fees for foreign nationals fivefold, after not having increased the amount for nearly 50 years.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
On Friday, however, Sabre Fadoul told AFP "it was not at the Americans' request that we decided to withdraw from the ICC".
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Simon said she decided to come forward about her health issues after “so many people have written to me, kindly wondering about my relative silence.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Lithwick: In re Turner was decided in 1867 by then–Chief Justice of the United States Salmon Chase.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
“I was hoping to spend tonight getting some of my homework done, but my mom decided my time was better spent here.”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is involved in deciding who will get the power, some of the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Gemma Hayter took her to another deciding leg but Greaves came through in style against the darts, producing a 104 checkout to reach the final.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Bianco said a divided Fed could be Powell’s “nightmare scenario,” because if the Fed committee is divided, he might cast the deciding vote.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
But it’s not as easy as just deciding what project to do and then digging, he added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
“If you have your heart set on it, that’s absolutely okay, but you have to know that you’re also deciding to give up all this gymnastics stuff.”
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
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.
