Origin: Latin suffix -tion
Arbitration has 3 different meanings across 1 category:
(law) the hearing and determination of a dispute by an impartial referee agreed to by both parties (often used to settle disputes between labor and management)
"The union and the company agreed to submit their wage disagreement to arbitration rather than facing a strike."
the act of deciding as an arbiter; giving authoritative judgment
"they submitted their disagreement to arbitration"
The act or process of arbitrating.
"The company agreed to submit their dispute to arbitration rather than taking it to court."
In plain English: Arbitration is when two people who can't agree on something ask a third person to make the final decision for them instead of going to court.
"The company agreed to use arbitration to settle their dispute without going to court."
The word arbitration entered English via the Old French form arbitracion and ultimately traces back to the Latin verb arbitrari, which means "to arbitrate" or "judge." Its meaning has remained consistent throughout its history, referring directly to the act of resolving disputes by a neutral third party.