determine
Americanverb (used with object)
-
determines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
determined,
past participle, past
-
determining
present participle
-
to conclude or ascertain, as after reasoning, observation, etc.
- Synonyms:
- verify
-
to settle or decide (a dispute, question, etc.) by an authoritative or conclusive decision.
-
to cause, affect, or control; fix or decide causally.
Demand for a product usually determines supply.
- Synonyms:
- influence
-
to give direction or tendency to; impel.
-
Geometry. to fix the position of.
-
Logic. to limit (a notion) by adding differentiating characteristics.
-
Chiefly Law. to put an end to; terminate.
-
to lead or bring (a person) to a decision.
-
to decide upon.
verb (used without object)
-
determines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
determined,
past participle, past
-
determining
present participle
-
to come to a decision or resolution; decide.
-
Chiefly Law. to come to an end.
verb
-
to settle or decide (an argument, question, etc) conclusively, as by referring to an authority
-
(tr) to ascertain or conclude, esp after observation or consideration
-
(tr) to shape or influence; give direction to
experience often determines ability
-
(tr) to fix in scope, extent, variety, etc
the river determined the edge of the property
-
to make or cause to make a decision
he determined never to marry
-
(tr) logic to define or limit (a notion) by adding or requiring certain features or characteristics
-
(tr) geometry to fix or specify the position, form, or configuration of
two points determine a line
-
law to come or bring to an end, as an estate or interest in land
-
(tr) to decide (a legal action or dispute)
Usage
What does determine mean? Determine means to conclude, as after reasoning or observing, as in After considering all my options, I’ve determined which college I want to attend. Generally, to determine something is to come to a conclusive decision from a place of authority on the subject. Determine can also mean to cause or control, as in How much homework my teacher assigns will determine whether I can go to the game tonight. Determine is also used to mean to give direction to, as a boss might determine what tasks their employees will do. Example: I have determined that the cause of death was cardiac arrest.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
quasi-determineverb
-
redetermineverb
-
interdetermineverb (used with object)
-
undeterminingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
determinesimple
-
determinessimple
-
have determinedperfect
-
has determinedperfect
-
am determiningprogressive
-
are determiningprogressive
-
is determiningprogressive
-
have been determiningperfect progressive
-
has been determiningperfect progressive
Past
-
determinedsimple
-
had determinedperfect
-
was determiningprogressive
-
were determiningprogressive
-
had been determiningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of determine
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Old French determiner, from Latin dētermināre “to mark out and fix boundaries,” equivalent to dē- prefix indicating separation + termināre “to bound, limit”; see de-, terminate
Explanation
If you determine something, you figure it out or settle a question, like when, after checking paws and hands, you determine that it's not the dog that ate your candy stash, but your kid sister. Determine comes from the Latin for "bring to a close," and when you determine something, you have closed all the questions you have about it and are quite sure you know the answer. If you become a detective, you'll have to determine who did the crime. After working through a mathematical problem, you determine the value of X. Determine can also mean influence. Your childhood spent in your grandmother's delightful kitchen might have determined your future career as a baker.
Vocabulary lists containing determine
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Vocabulary of the Common Core
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
It was difficult to determine what that guilt could ever produce.
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
Their goal is to identify effective treatments and determine the best timing for possible interventions.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
The club’s six membership committee members determine the nominees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
The McClellan Oscillator, an indicator developed by McClellan’s parents, is the final criteria necessary to determine whether the Omen triggered or not.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
His biggest positions were with Goldman, and Goldman was newly unable, or unwilling, to determine the value of those positions, and so could not say how much collateral should be shifted back and forth.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Your cost of living now likely determines your cost of living in retirement.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
But footage from shootings or incidents resulting in death or serious injury will be released promptly only when ICE determines doing so is in the agency’s “best interests,” according to the policy.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
"As long as a single test determines access to scarce opportunities, there will be strong incentives for exam malpractice, regardless of the testing format," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
If a joint study determines that indigenous enrichment is warranted, Americans would build the facility under a secretive “black box” arrangement, avoiding the transfer of sensitive enrichment technology to Riyadh.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Dobzhansky could now restate the essential truth of Mendel’s discovery—a gene determines a physical feature—by generalizing that idea across multiple genes and multiple features: a genotype determines a phenotype.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Secret Service and the FBI later determined that Trump was in no danger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Then came a confusing correction: A product sample the agency had initially described as positive was later determined to be a false positive.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Macron's office said after the ruling that the French government would work "as quickly as possible" to propose a new draft and said the president was determined to see the reform implemented by early 2027.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Manchester United boss Michael Carrick is determined to keep pushing to improve his squad this summer.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
And I know something else: if he’s out there, I’m determined to find him and see where he fits.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
There are many factors that go into determining how much of an impact eliminating the tax cap would have on the program’s bottom line.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Rather than concentrating only on determining where syphilis originated, the team says future studies should examine how different treponemal diseases evolved alongside human populations, societies and changing environments.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
Bone analysis would be a key way of determining the soldiers' identities, it added.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
They exert an outsize role in determining mortgage-underwriting standards, and they are using that power to get condos, many of which are growing old, to set aside more money for physical upkeep.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
My blood swirls inside the meter's different chambers, churning, separating the proteins related to each arcana, determining which ones need rebalancing.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
