A public official whose duty it is to administer the law, especially by presiding over trials and rendering judgments; a justice.
"The judge dismissed the case after hearing both sides of the argument."
In plain English: A judge is an official who listens to arguments and decides what is right or wrong in a court of law.
"The judge in the courtroom was known for being very fair to all defendants."
Usage: Use "judge" as a noun to refer specifically to an impartial legal officer who oversees court proceedings and makes binding decisions on cases. Do not use this term to describe your personal opinion or assessment of someone's character, which requires the verb form.
determine the result of (a competition)
"The referee had to quickly judge whether the diver's landing was a perfect ten or just a nine-and-a-half."
form a critical opinion of
"I cannot judge some works of modern art"
"How do you evaluate this grant proposal?"
"We shouldn't pass judgment on other people"
judge tentatively or form an estimate of (quantities or time)
"I estimate this chicken to weigh three pounds"
put on trial or hear a case and sit as the judge at the trial of
"The football star was tried for the murder of his wife"
"The judge tried both father and son in separate trials"
To sit in judgment on; to pass sentence on.
"The jury will judge the defendant guilty after reviewing all the evidence presented during the trial."
In plain English: To judge something means to form an opinion about it based on what you see or know.
"The jury will judge the defendant based on the evidence presented in court."
Usage: Use the verb judge to mean forming an opinion about someone or something based on limited information, rather than making an official legal ruling. Avoid using it when you simply mean to evaluate fairly, as that implies a neutral assessment without prejudice.
A surname, from occupations.
"The local judge, whose family name traces back to his great-grandfather's time as a community arbiter, welcomed the new residents to town."
The word judge entered English from the Old French juge, which came from the Latin iūdex meaning "one who judges." It replaced an earlier native term, deme, derived from Old English.