juror
Americannoun
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one of a group of persons sworn to deliver a verdict in a case submitted to them; member of a jury.
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one of the panel from which a jury is selected.
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one of a group of people who judge a competition.
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a person who has taken an oath or sworn allegiance.
noun
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a member of a jury
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a person whose name is included on a panel from which a jury is selected
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a person who takes an oath
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
In New York state court, deliberations in the 2025 criminal trial of Harvey Weinstein devolved into a slew of juror complaints.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
And Musk didn’t disappoint those who see him as a “world-class jerk,” as one juror described him in a questionnaire before the trial.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026
The guard crosses to the 12TH juror and checks his name.
From "Twelve Angry Men" by Reginald Rose
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
