criteria
Americannoun
Usage
What does criteria mean? Criteria is the plural of criterion—a standard or principle for judging, evaluating, or selecting something. Criteria are the ideals or requirements on which a judgment, evaluation, or selection is based. The plural of criterion can also be criterions, but this is rarely used. Criteria are often the particular requirements that someone or something must meet in order to be considered or qualify for something. An applicant for a job may be evaluated based on several criteria, including their education, experience, and references—each one of these standards is a criterion. Your grade in a class may be based on certain criteria, such as your test scores, your grades on homework and other assignments, and your participation in class. Similarly, a gymnast’s score is based on several criteria involving how well they performed certain moves. The word criteria is often used with the word meet, as in Your entry meets all of our criteria for inclusion in the exhibit. Sometimes, people try to use criteria as a singular noun (like how data is sometimes used), but this is generally considered not the right way to use it. Example: We assess the candidates based on several criteria, and one criterion is that they must have at least five years of experience in a similar position.
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.
To qualify for the Evans Scholarship, students must meet the program’s four selection criteria demonstrating a strong caddie record, outstanding academics, financial need and exceptional character.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2026
This story I did about a historic home in Cambridge, Mass., ticked off several of those criteria.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
However, states can prosecute federal agents under their own laws if their actions do not meet those criteria.
From Slate • Apr. 17, 2026
The criteria included looking at where AI has capability, where humans remain essential, the response from demand to lower costs and actual use of AI.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026
This provoked further controversy, and the pressure of letters continued to build up urging the Society to declare more fully its membership criteria.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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.
