verdict
Americannoun
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Law. the finding or answer of a jury given to the court concerning a matter submitted to their judgment.
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a judgment; decision.
the verdict of the critics.
noun
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the findings of a jury on the issues of fact submitted to it for examination and trial; judgment
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any decision, judgment, or conclusion
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of verdict
1250–1300; Middle English < Medieval Latin vērdictum, variant of vērēdictum literally, something said truly; replacing Middle English verdit < Anglo-French < Latin vērum dictum true word
Explanation
A verdict is a decision made after a lot of considering, usually made by the jury in a courtroom. If you've finally decided that the test was unfair, that's your verdict and you should talk to the teacher about it. Although verdicts are usually announced in a courtroom, any time someone makes a judgment about something, it's a verdict. The truth lies in the root of this word: ver comes from the Latin verus, meaning "true." Ver shows up in other words — to verify something is to prove that it's true, and veracious is an adjective meaning "truthful." And the truth is exactly what the judge needs when he's trying to decide the verdict of a case.
Vocabulary lists containing verdict
You Can Say That Again: Dic and Dict
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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And Then There Were None
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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:
Judge Paul Thomas KC accepted a majority verdict on the charge of wounding with intent, which meant at least 10 jurors agreed following four hours deliberation.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Soccer legend gives verdict on World Cup final’s first-ever halftime show.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
The local authority celebrated a “great day for Peckham” when the verdict came out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
A lawsuit filed by Bryant’s family resulted in a multimillion dollar verdict against the department.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
The judge asked the foreman if indeed the jury had reached a verdict.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
The document sets out in detail the grounds on which he will attempt to have all 18 guilty verdicts set aside.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
When the not-guilty verdicts were read out, the trio made little or no reaction, according to BBC News.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
In 2024, the city paid out $289 million in settlements and jury verdicts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
"As a party we believe in the rule of law and that criminal proceedings must take their full course. Justice has been served with the guilty verdicts against him," a spokesperson said.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
It remains the law in Alabama, where judges almost exclusively use this power to turn life sentences into death sentences, although they're also authorized to reduce death verdicts to life if they so choose.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
