dictum
Americannoun
plural
dicta, dictums-
an authoritative pronouncement; judicial assertion.
- Synonyms:
- declaration, order, fiat, decree, edict
-
a saying; maxim.
noun
-
a formal or authoritative statement or assertion; pronouncement
-
a popular saying or maxim
-
law See obiter dictum
Etymology
Origin of dictum
1660–70; < Latin: something said, a saying, command, word, noun use of neuter past participle of dīcere to say, speak; index
Explanation
"You are what you eat" is a dictum, and so is a law requiring you to curb your dog. A dictum is a formal pronouncement, a rule, or a statement that expresses a truth universally acknowledged. Dictum dates from the 16th Century. It descended from a Latin word that means "something said." In contemporary use, it means more like "something that is officially said." If the principal of your school issues a dictum declaring "no jeans in school," it's time to go shopping.
Vocabulary lists containing dictum
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Fahrenheit 451
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You Can Say That Again: Dic and Dict
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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.
Rather than trying to follow and spurring others to follow the dubious dictum “Don’t look away,” we should ask: “Why am I looking away?”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
The government held, and Hamilton got the economy running again using Bagehot’s dictum External link: “Lend freely, at a penalty rate, against good collateral.”
From Barron's • Mar. 1, 2026
Since then, Huxley’s dictum of “man remaining man” has become stretched.
From Slate • Jul. 28, 2025
They are the ones who hold official secrets or, as one explains, uphold the ancient dictum, “the servants have no ears,” and resolve not to hear them.
From Salon • Mar. 20, 2025
Zero clashed with one of the central tenets of Western philosophy, a dictum whose roots were in the number-philosophy of Pythagoras and whose importance came from the paradoxes of Zeno.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
