jury

[joo r-ee]

noun, plural ju·ries.

a group of persons sworn to render a verdict or true answer on a question or questions officially submitted to them.

such a group selected according to law and sworn to inquire into or determine the facts concerning a cause or an accusation submitted to them and to render a verdict to a court.Compare grand jury, petty jury.

a group of persons chosen to adjudge prizes, awards, etc., as in a competition.

verb (used with object), ju·ried, ju·ry·ing.

to judge or evaluate by means of a jury: All entries will be juried by a panel of professionals.

Idioms

the jury is (still) out, a decision, determination, or opinion has yet to be rendered: The jury is still out on the president's performance.

Origin of jury

1250–1300; Middle English jurie, juree, < Old French juree oath, juridical inquiry, noun use of juree, feminine past participle of jurer to swear; cf. jurat

Related formsju·ry·less, adjective

Usage note

See collective noun.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for juries

tribunal, board, peers, judges

Examples from the Web for juries

Contemporary Examples of juries

With juries, admissions tend to trump other evidence as much as a full house beats two of a kind.
The Myth of the Central Park Five
Edward Conlon
October 19, 2014
The specific issue is that juries in the United States are drawn from county-wide population pools.
Ferguson and the Urban-Suburban Race Conflict
Michael Tomasky
August 18, 2014
Juries are composed of people like me: People with a bone to pick.
Does This Widow Deserve $23 Billion?
Kevin Bleyer
July 26, 2014
Juries are faced with similar ambiguities when it comes to physical injury.
Should Neo-Nazis Be Allowed Free Speech?
Thane Rosenbaum
January 31, 2014
Time and again, juries refused to convict drug defendants, even in cases where there was overwhelming evidence of guilt.
How Eric Holder Got His Chance to Overhaul Broken Sentencing System
Daniel Klaidman
August 16, 2013

Historical Examples of juries

In this sense he was a fine and effective speaker to courts and juries.
Cleveland Past and Present
Maurice Joblin
He omits to tell us whether he would allow his juries to vote.
Shelley, Godwin and Their Circle
H. N. Brailsford
If you make the criminal code sanguinary, juries will not convict.
Essays, First Series
Ralph Waldo Emerson
He lectured to us just as he talked to the juries, quietly and slowly—like a teacher.
The Marx He Knew
John Spargo
All were condemned by juries to death for high treason on 12th May.
Henry VIII.
A. F. Pollard

British Dictionary definitions for juries

jury

noun plural -ries

a group of, usually twelve, people sworn to deliver a true verdict according to the evidence upon a case presented in a court of lawSee also grand jury, petit jury

a body of persons appointed to judge a competition and award prizes

the jury is still out informal it has not yet been decided or agreed on

Word Origin for jury

C14: from Old French juree, from jurer to swear; see juror

jury

adjective

mainly nautical (in combination) makeshiftjury-rigged

Word Origin for jury

C17: of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for juries

jury

early 14c. (attested from late 12c. in Anglo-Latin), from Anglo-French juree (late 13c.), from Medieval Latin iurata "an oath, an inquest," fem. past participle of Latin iurare "to swear," from ius (genitive iuris) "law" (see jurist). Meaning "body of persons chosen to award prizes at an exhibition" is from 1851. Grand jury attested from early 15c. in Anglo-French (le graund Jurre).

jury

adj.

"temporary," 1610s, in jury-mast, a nautical term for a temporary mast put in place of one broken or blown away, of uncertain origin. The word perhaps is ultimately from Old French ajurie "help, relief," from Latin adjutare (see aid (n.)).