judge

American  

[juhj] / dʒʌdʒ /

noun

• judges
  plural

1. a public officer authorized to hear and decide cases in a court of law; a magistrate charged with the administration of justice.

   Synonyms:

   justice

2. a person appointed to decide in any competition, contest, or matter at issue; authorized arbiter.

   the judges of a beauty contest.

   Synonyms:

   arbitrator

3. a person qualified to pass a critical judgment.

   a good judge of horses.

   Synonyms:

   critic, connoisseur

4. an administrative head of Israel in the period between the death of Joshua and the accession to the throne by Saul.

5. (especially in rural areas) a county official with supervisory duties, often employed part-time or on an honorary basis.

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verb (used with object)

• judges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• judged,
  past participle,  past
• judging
  present participle

1. to pass legal judgment on; pass sentence on (a person).

   The court judged him guilty.

2. to hear evidence or legal arguments in (a case) in order to pass judgment; adjudicate; try.

   The Supreme Court is judging that case.

3. to form a judgment or opinion of; decide upon critically.

   You can't judge a book by its cover.

4. to decide or settle authoritatively; adjudge.

   The censor judged the book obscene and forbade its sale.

5. to infer, think, or hold as an opinion; conclude about or assess.

   He judged her to be correct.

   Synonyms:

   regard, consider, conceive

6. to make a careful guess about; estimate.

   We judged the distance to be about four miles.

7. (of the ancient Hebrew judges) to govern.

verb (used without object)

• judges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• judged,
  past participle,  past
• judging
  present participle

1. to act as a judge; pass judgment.

   No one would judge between us.

   Synonyms:

   adjudicate, adjudge

2. to form an opinion or estimate.

   I have heard the evidence and will judge accordingly.

3. to make a mental judgment.

judge British  

/ dʒʌdʒ /

noun

1. a public official with authority to hear cases in a court of law and pronounce judgment upon them Compare magistrate justice justice

2. a person who is appointed to determine the result of contests or competitions

3. a person qualified to comment critically

   a good judge of antiques

4. a leader of the peoples of Israel from Joshua's death to the accession of Saul

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verb

1. to hear and decide upon (a case at law)

2. (tr) to pass judgment on; sentence

3. (when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to decide or deem (something) after inquiry or deliberation

4. to determine the result of (a contest or competition)

5. to appraise (something) critically

6. (tr; takes a clause as object) to believe (something) to be the case; suspect

judge Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing judge

• judgment
• sober as a judge

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Synonym Usage

Judge, referee, umpire refer to one who is entrusted with decisions affecting others. Judge, in its legal and other uses, implies particularly that one has qualifications and authority for giving decisions in matters at issue: a judge appointed to the Supreme Court; a judge in the pie competition. A referee usually examines and reports on the merits of a case as an aid to a court. An umpire gives the final ruling when arbitrators of a case disagree.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• judger
  noun
• judgeship
  noun
• subjudge
  noun
• subjudgeship
  noun
• underjudge
  noun
• rejudge
  verb
• underjudge
  verb (used with object)
• judgeable
  adjective
• judgeless
  adjective
• judgelike
  adjective
• unjudgeable
  adjective
• unjudged
  adjective
• unjudgelike
  adjective
• well-judged
  adjective
• judgingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• judges
  plural

Participles

• judging
  present
• judged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• judge
  simple
• judges
  simple
• have judged
  perfect
• has judged
  perfect
• am judging
  progressive
• are judging
  progressive
• is judging
  progressive
• have been judging
  perfect progressive
• has been judging
  perfect progressive

Past

• judged
  simple
• had judged
  perfect
• was judging
  progressive
• were judging
  progressive
• had been judging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will judge
  simple
• will have judged
  perfect
• will be judging
  progressive
• will have been judging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of judge

First recorded in 1175–1225; (verb) Middle English jugen, from Anglo-French juger, Old French jugier, from Latin jūdicāre “to judge,” equivalent to jūdic- (stem of jūdex ) “a judge” + -āre infinitive suffix; (noun) Middle English juge, from Old French, from Latin jūdicem, accusative of jūdex

Explanation

To judge is to form your own opinion. The critics didn't think much of the movie, but you decided to judge for yourself. Now you can't get your money back. A person who judges, especially for a living, is known as a judge. To this day, you believe the judges cheated you out of the gold medal for figure skating because they didn't like your outfit. If you're wearing handcuffs and a police officer says, “Tell it to the judge,” that's the one in the black robes, not the one that holds up scorecards. Hopefully, this judge will like your outfit.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

judge judges judged judging

A federal judge previously ruled that the board could not rename the Kennedy Center without congressional approval and blocked an earlier closure plan.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

It’s like asking unsighted people to judge a painting competition.

From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026

Mangione, wearing tan jail garb, told the judge that after enduring severe pain, and witnessing others with similar experiences, he learned of the company’s investor conference.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

From then on it was silent, as the judge asked Mangione a series of questions to ensure he understood the decision he was about to make.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

“One does not become a judge without reading a great many books. Please forgive my appearance. It is a precaution against cats.”

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Ms. Rogoyska judges that the Lutetia was the only one of Paris’s grand hotels offered the “redemption” of being put in the service of survivors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Whether this legal challenge will succeed depends in part on whether judges will continue to defer to the president on these particular levies, no matter how much they deviate from previous practice.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

In December 2025, senior judges in the Court of Appeal ruled those convictions were unsafe.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Federal judges in Portland, Colorado, Washington D.C. and the Eastern District of California have also blocked similar warrantless arrest practices.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

“Here one was sure to meet scholars, philosophers, philanthropists, judges, bishops, clergymen, and statesmen,” Elizabeth wrote.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

"Look, this is an overwhelming endorsement of me. I have had enough of being judged by mainstream media, being called a criminal."

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Lincicome judged these strictures to be tantamount to the “nationalization” of U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Many in recovery are worried about being judged or perceived because of their body, she said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Companies bidding for government contracts are judged on a range of measures, including value for money and the extent to which they bring benefits to the local community.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

The more I reflected on the experience, the more I recognized that I had been struggling my whole life with the question of how and why people are judged unfairly.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

The optical sector has heated up again ahead of earnings, judging in part by a new ETF that’s exciting investors.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

More broadly, the results support an approach to nutrition research and dietary guidance that considers whole foods rather than judging foods primarily by individual nutrients.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026

Traders and investment bankers are reigning supreme on Wall Street, at least if you’re judging by their bonuses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

"A lot of people might say this about the referee, the judging, but at the end of the day I can only blame myself," he told BBC Sport.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

It was a girl-rat, small and quite young, judging by her looks.

From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien

Related Words

• appreciate
• assess
• conclude
• consider
• criticize
• decide
• derive
• determine
• discern
• distinguish
• draw
• evaluate
• examine
• find
• put
• resolve
• review
• try