decision

American  

[dih-sizh-uhn] / dɪˈsɪʒ ən /

noun

1. 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.

2. the act of or need for making up one's mind.

   This is a difficult decision.

3. something that is decided; resolution.

   She made a poor decision when she dropped out of school.

4. a judgment, as one formally pronounced by a court.

   It is the decision of this court that the appeal is granted.

   Synonyms:

   decree, finding, verdict, ruling

5. the quality of being decided; firmness.

   He spoke with decision and calm authority.

6. the final score in any sport or contest.

   The decision was 5 to 4 in favor of the home team.

7. 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.

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verb (used with object)

1. Boxing. to win a victory over (one's opponent) by a point score rather than a knockout.

decision British  

/ dɪˈsɪʒən /

noun

1. a judgment, conclusion, or resolution reached or given; verdict

2. the act of making up one's mind

3. firmness of purpose or character; determination

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Other Word Forms

• decisional adjective
• nondecision noun
• predecision noun
• redecision noun
• subdecision noun

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.

Example Sentences

This has been partly driven by DeepSeek's decision to make its systems open source, with their inner workings public -- in contrast to the proprietary models sold by OpenAI and other Western rivals.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

That decision wasn’t due to credit-quality concerns, Conger said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Rukaiya Kamba, the creative director of Nigerian brand Flaunt Archive, said the decision to present her collection in Paris came from a "very intentional place".

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

Hortiz said Mesidor’s standout play in the postseason with Miami ultimately played a big factor in their decision to draft him.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

Thus, the Lumleys had made the heartbreaking decision to hide Penelope in plain sight, as it were, at the Swanburne Academy.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• accord
• agreement
• arrangement
• choice
• compromise
• determination
• finding
• judgment
• opinion
• outcome
• resolution
• result
• ruling
• selection
• settlement
• verdict