judge: Meaning and Definition of

judge

Pronunciation: ( juj), [key]
— n., v., judged, judg•ing.
—n.
  1. a public officer authorized to hear and decide cases in a court of law; a magistrate charged with the administration of justice.
  2. a person appointed to decide in any competition, contest, or matter at issue; authorized arbiter: the judges of a beauty contest.
  3. a person qualified to pass a critical judgment: a good judge of horses.
  4. an administrative head of Israel in the period between the death of Joshua and the accession to the throne by Saul.
  5. (esp. in rural areas) a county official with supervisory duties, often employed part-time or on an honorary basis.
—v.t.
  1. to pass legal judgment on; pass sentence on (a person): The court judged him guilty.
  2. to hear evidence or legal arguments in (a case) in order to pass judgment; adjudicate; try: The Supreme Court is judging that case.
  3. to form a judgment or opinion of; decide upon critically: You can't judge a book by its cover.
  4. to decide or settle authoritatively; adjudge: The censor judged the book obscene and forbade its sale.
  5. to infer, think, or hold as an opinion; conclude about or assess: He judged her to be correct.
  6. to make a careful guess about; estimate: We judged the distance to be about four miles.
  7. (of the ancient Hebrew judges) to govern.
—v.i.
  1. to act as a judge; pass judgment: No one would judge between us.
  2. to form an opinion or estimate: I have heard the evidence and will judge accordingly.
  3. to make a mental judgment.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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