juror

American  

[joor-er, -awr] / ˈdʒʊər ər, -ɔr /

noun

1. one of a group of persons sworn to deliver a verdict in a case submitted to them; member of a jury.

2. one of the panel from which a jury is selected.

3. one of a group of people who judge a competition.

4. a person who has taken an oath or sworn allegiance.

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juror British  

/ ˈdʒʊərə /

noun

1. a member of a jury

2. a person whose name is included on a panel from which a jury is selected

3. a person who takes an oath

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Etymology

Origin of juror

1250–1300; Middle English jurour < Anglo-French (compare Old French jureur ), equivalent to Old French jur ( er ) to swear (< Latin jūrāre ) + -our -or ²

Explanation

Anyone who's a member of a jury in a court of law is called a juror. When you serve as a juror, you're part of a group that hears evidence in a trial and gives a verdict. When someone gets called for jury duty, it's an opportunity to be a juror for a trial. A juror is typically one of twelve people who swear to make an impartial, unbiased decision based on legal evidence. The jurors must come to a unanimous agreement about their verdict after all evidence is presented, generally either "guilty" or "not guilty." The Latin root is iuratorem, or "swearer," from iurare, "to swear."

Example Sentences

Batson established a three-part framework for racial juror challenges: Defense counsel challenges a strike, the prosecutor gives race-neutral reasons for it, then defense counsel has the opportunity to rebut those proffered reasons as pretextual.

From Slate • May 28, 2026

After that, Evans provided what he said were race-neutral reasons for the strikes, including that one juror had been 15 minutes late to court after a break.

From Slate • May 28, 2026

“It was spoken and we couldn’t unhear it,” recalled one juror.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026

That juror, Myra Crosby, has said Hill pressed her about her doubts about the prosecution’s case, then used bogus social-media posts as a pretext for engineering her ouster.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

We’re not going to get anywhere like this. 10TH juror: Well, what does he want?

From "Twelve Angry Men" by Reginald Rose