decide
Americanverb (used with object)
-
decides,
present (3rd person singular)
-
decided,
past participle, past
-
deciding
present participle
-
to solve or conclude (a question, controversy, or struggle) by giving victory to one side.
The judge decided the case in favor of the plaintiff.
-
to determine or settle (something in dispute or doubt).
to decide an argument.
-
to bring (a person) to a decision; persuade or convince.
The new evidence decided him.
verb (used without object)
-
decides,
present (3rd person singular)
-
decided,
past participle, past
-
deciding
present participle
-
to settle something in dispute or doubt.
The judge decided in favor of the plaintiff.
-
to make a judgment or determine a preference; come to a conclusion.
verb
-
(may take a clause or an infinitive as object; when intr, sometimes foll by on or about) to reach a decision
decide what you want
he decided to go
-
(tr) to cause (a person) to reach a decision
the weather decided me against going
-
(tr) to determine or settle (a contest or question)
he decided his future plans
-
(tr) to influence decisively the outcome of (a contest or question)
Borg's stamina decided the match
-
(intr; foll by for or against) to pronounce a formal verdict
Usage
What are other ways to say decide?
To decide is to settle something in dispute or doubt. How is it different from resolve and determine? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
decidesimple
-
decidessimple
-
have decidedperfect
-
has decidedperfect
-
am decidingprogressive
-
are decidingprogressive
-
is decidingprogressive
-
have been decidingperfect progressive
-
has been decidingperfect progressive
Past
-
decidedsimple
-
had decidedperfect
-
was decidingprogressive
-
were decidingprogressive
-
had been decidingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of decide
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English deciden, from Middle French decider, from Latin dēcīdere, literally, “to cut off,” equivalent to dē- de- + -cīdere (combining form of caedere “to strike, cut down”; see -cide ( def. ))
Explanation
To decide is to make up your mind to do (or not do) something. People decide hundreds of things a day, from what to eat to what TV shows to watch. Deciding involves making decisions — choosing what to do. There are a lot of things in life to decide, such as where to live, what school to go to, where to apply for a job, and what kind of clothes to buy and wear. At any restaurant, there are hundreds of options: you have to decide which is right for you. You can also say that if a touchdown ended a game, it decided the game.
Vocabulary lists containing decide
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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!
5th Grade Government Vocabulary, List 1
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!
"Zlateh the Goat"
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:
Next, Rushing, in conversation with the team and medical staff, will have to decide whether he needs to undergo surgery to repair the ligament.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office will decide whether to file charges after investigators presented the case on Tuesday morning.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
In other words, don't buy a pair and then decide to go on a 5-mile hike.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
He instructed each student to decide on what questions the examination should include—and then respond to them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Some strangers with a bunch of rules are going to decide what happens to me and Boo?
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
Whatever the Supreme Court decides after the states’ deadline next week, the underlying tension is worth sitting with.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
Whatever the Fed decides, it might not say much about what comes next.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
But once an agency decides records are public, the law states, it must release them “promptly.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Once that term has been completed, offenders remain in prison until the parole board decides they can be freed.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
She decides it would likely depend on the knife.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Instead of putting another GLP-1 like semaglutide into trials, Lilly decided to pair a GLP-1 with a GIP receptor agonist in what Lundberg described as a “very close collaboration between R&D and the business unit.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
After confirming speaking with family members at the scene, deputies decided to "tactically disengage while continuing to monitor the situation", police said.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
"We have decided to call off all games on August 5-6 until comprehensive safety measures are established," the KBO said in a statement, citing risks to players and fans as extreme temperatures persist.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
She was drawn to the opportunity to talk to people without a professional agenda, and later decided she could help the organizers attract more women.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
There was a place on a nearby tulip farm, but the farmer had decided he must be paid for the risk he was taking.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
What seems like a contradiction is really a generation deciding whether AI’s uncertainty is a threat or an opportunity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
There will be options for tomatoes, greens, fruit and the miscellaneous beautiful thing you bought before deciding what it was for.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
In other words, rather than affluent retirees deciding to decline their benefits out of civic virtue, the system should be redesigned.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
The conversations were taped between March and October 2024 involving members of the department’s recruitment unit, whose officers are tasked with deciding who can join the police force.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
The second is deciding when to tell him.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
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.
