judge
judge — noun
1. a person who presides over a court of law, hears the evidence presented, and giv
a person who presides over a court of law, hears the evidence presented, and gives a formal decision about guilt or punishment.
The judge asked the witness to describe what she saw the night of the robbery.
countable: the judge in a court context
Judge Nkechi sentenced the man to three years in prison for the theft.
title: Judge + surname as form of address
Ignacio's uncle has worked as a judge in the district court for over twenty years.
collocation: work as a judge
The defence lawyer stood up and addressed the judge before the trial began.
- trial judge
- presiding judge
- district judge
- sentencing judge
- the bench
- magistrate
a lower-level judge who deals with minor offences; narrower scope
- justice
used for senior judges, especially on appeal or supreme courts; more formal
- presiding officer
generic term for the person in charge of a court session; less common in everyday use
Grammar Patterns
the judge (with definite article)
Usage Note
Often preceded by the definite article ('the judge') or used as a title before a surname ('Judge Smith'). In British English, judges are formally addressed as 'Your Honour' in court.
Common Mistakes
2. a person selected to pick the winner or rank the participants in a competition.
a person selected to pick the winner or rank the participants in a competition.
The judges gave the dance group a score of nine out of ten.
plural: the judges (panel context)
Four judges tasted each dish without knowing who had cooked it.
quantifier: four judges
Saira was chosen as a judge for the city's annual baking competition.
collocation: chosen as a judge
The head judge announced the winner after checking all the scorecards.
compound: head judge
Each judge held up a numbered card to show how they rated the performance.
- panel of judges
- head judge
- competition judge
- judge's score
- judge's decision
- referee
used mainly for sports matches; enforces rules rather than scoring
- umpire
used in cricket, tennis, and baseball; makes rulings during play
- adjudicator
formal term for someone who judges a contest; less common in everyday language
Grammar Patterns
the judges (plural for panel)
Usage Note
Commonly appears in the plural ('the judges') when referring to a panel. Typical contexts include cooking shows, dance competitions, sports events, and talent contests.
Common Mistakes
3. a person whose knowledge or experience allows them to give an informed opinion o
a person whose knowledge or experience allows them to give an informed opinion on the quality or value of something.
Heather is a good judge of character and can spot a dishonest person quickly.
pattern: a good judge of [something]
Leo is not a judge of modern art, but he knows what he likes.
pattern: not a judge of [something]
When it comes to wine, Élise is a reliable judge of quality.
collocation: a reliable judge of quality
Eve is an excellent judge of wine quality — she has worked in vineyards for over a decade.
countable noun: a[n] [adjective] judge of [something]
- good judge of character
- excellent judge of quality
- poor judge of talent
- reliable judge
- connoisseur
someone with expert knowledge, especially in food, drink, or the arts; narrower and more refined
- critic
someone who judges creative work professionally, often writing reviews
- expert
broader term for someone with deep knowledge; not limited to evaluation
Grammar Patterns
a [adjective] judge of [something]
Usage Note
Typically appears in the pattern 'a [adjective] judge of [noun]', where the adjective describes the person's reliability (good, poor, excellent, reliable). The noun following 'of' names the area of judgment (character, quality, art, wine, talent).
judge — verb
1. to form a conclusion or opinion about someone or something after weighing the av
to form a conclusion or opinion about someone or something after weighing the available evidence or information.
Dewi felt it was unfair to judge her classmates solely by their appearance when she barely knew them.
collocation: judge by appearance
David tried to judge how long the repair work would take.
pattern: judge + wh-clause (how)
The committee will judge each proposal on its cost and practicality.
collocation: judge on [criteria]
Ari judged that the cake needed another ten minutes in the oven.
pattern: judge + that-clause for an opinion
Rania judged from her tone that she was not telling the whole story.
pattern: judge from + noun phrase + that-clause
- judge by appearances
- judge carefully
- judge fairly
- judge on merit
Grammar Patterns
judge + noun phrase
judge + wh-clause (whether/if/how)
judge + that-clause
judge by/from + noun phrase
Usage Note
Can be transitive (judge + object), followed by a wh-clause (judge whether/if/how), or a that-clause. The phrase 'judging by/from' is also common but belongs to verb sense 4. Frequently passive when the basis of judgment is emphasised ('It should be judged on its quality, not its price').
Common Mistakes
2. to form a harsh or unfavourable opinion of someone's character or behaviour, oft
to form a harsh or unfavourable opinion of someone's character or behaviour, often without knowing the full situation.
Quinn felt that his classmates were judging him for wearing old clothes.
transitive: judge + person + for + noun phrase
Please do not judge me — I did the best I could under the circumstances.
negative imperative: do not judge
Jiwoo's parents never judged her choices, even when they disagreed.
transitive: judge + noun phrase (choices)
Yael judged the school's new lunch menu too quickly, without giving the cooks a chance to improve it.
transitive: judge + something + for being too [adjective]
- judge harshly
- judge unfairly
- feel judged
- don't judge
- stop judging
- criticise
more direct and explicit about expressing disapproval; less emotional
- condemn
stronger disapproval, often moral in nature; more formal
- look down on
phrasal verb suggesting a feeling of superiority; informal
Grammar Patterns
judge + noun phrase (person)
judge (no object)
don't judge
Usage Note
Frequently used in negative imperatives ('Don't judge!') or in defensive statements where the speaker feels wrongly criticised ('You're judging me'). The object is typically a person or the person's choices/behaviour. Unlike sense 1, this sense carries a clear negative connotation and implies the judgment is unfair or premature.
Common Mistakes
3. to act as the official decider in a contest or competition, typically by giving
to act as the official decider in a contest or competition, typically by giving scores or selecting the winner.
Kofi was asked to judge the final round of the school science fair.
passive: be asked to judge + event
Sivan has judged many dance competitions across the country.
present perfect: has judged + competitions
Two professional chefs will judge the cooking contest at the town festival.
future: will judge + event
A panel of experts will judge the entries and select the best design.
Tamar judged the race and announced the winner at the closing ceremony.
collocation: judge the race
- judge a competition
- judge a contest
- judge an event
- judge the entries
- judge the final
- adjudicate
more formal; used in legal or official competition contexts
- referee
specific to sports; focuses on rule enforcement
- score
focuses on assigning numerical ratings rather than declaring a winner
Grammar Patterns
judge + noun phrase (competition/event)
Usage Note
The subject is usually a person with official authority to decide the outcome. Often appears in the passive structure ('The competition was judged by…'). The object is the event, contest, or entries, not the participants directly.
Common Mistakes
4. used to explain what evidence or observation led to a particular conclusion, alw
used to explain what evidence or observation led to a particular conclusion, always in the fixed structures 'judging by' or 'judging from'.
Judging by the dark clouds, a storm is likely to arrive this evening.
fixed pattern: judging by + noun phrase for prediction
The party was a huge success, judging from the smiles on everyone's faces.
fixed pattern: judging from + noun phrase for inference
Judging by her expression, Jenna did not expect to receive that news.
Judging from the empty shelves, the sale had already started.
fixed pattern: judging from + noun phrase for inference
Judging from the noise outside, the children are having a wonderful time.
- judging by appearances
- judging from experience
- judging by the look of things
- judging from what I can see
- going by
informal alternative with the same meaning
- based on
more formal; used in different syntactic positions
- to judge by/from
infinitive form used similarly but less common
Grammar Patterns
judging by + noun phrase
judging from + noun phrase
Usage Note
Unlike the other verb senses, this sense only appears in the present participle form ('judging by/from') as a fixed phrase at the start of a sentence, or in the structure 'judge from [evidence] that [conclusion]'. It is a discourse marker that signals the speaker is making an inference. Cannot be conjugated for person or tense ('*I judged by the clouds' does not carry this sense).
Common Mistakes
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/1
All four words involve forming an opinion about something, but they differ in how systematic or formal the process is. Judge (the broadest) can be used in any situation where you reach a conclusion after considering evidence — from deciding whether someone's character is good to estimating how much food you need. Evaluate is more methodical: you measure something against clear criteria, like evaluating a student's performance on a scale. Assess is similar but often used for situations, risks, or needs rather than people (e.g., assess the damage after a storm). Gauge suggests estimating something that is not directly measurable, such as a mood or reaction ('She tried to gauge his interest'). Appraise is the most formal, typically used for determining monetary value ('The jeweller appraised the necklace at £2,000') or officially reviewing performance at work. In everyday conversation, judge covers most needs; the others add precision about how the opinion was reached.
Common collocations
Etymology
The word judge entered English through Old French jugier, which came from Latin judicare, meaning 'to judge or decide officially'. The Latin root judicare is itself built from two parts: jus ('right, law') and dicere ('to say, declare'). So a judge is literally 'one who speaks the law.' The verb form developed from the same source, with the general sense of forming an opinion arriving later as an extension of the legal meaning.