judgment call

American  

noun

1. Sports. an observational ruling by a referee or umpire that is necessarily subjective because of the disputable nature of the play in question, and one that may be appealed but not protested, as opposed to a matter of official rule interpretation.

   Balks and close plays at first are of course judgment calls, and umpires are human.

2. any subjective or debatable determination; personal opinion or interpretation.

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Etymology

Origin of judgment call

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

Whether they are all real is a judgment call.

From The Wall Street Journal

Especially because you now know the airline won’t make that judgment call for you.

From MarketWatch

“Clearly, it is a judgment call to determine how to respond to intermediate-category inflation deviations,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

The decision to cut rates or pause rates next month requires “a judgment call about where the risks of not moving are, and where the risks of moving are,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal

That is a high threshold and a judgment call.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• attitude
• concept
• consideration
• feeling
• impression
• judgment
• mind
• notion
• opinion
• point of view
• sentiment
• thought