1. come or bring to a resolution in the mind as a result of consideration: "she decided that she liked him"
▪ make a choice from a number of alternatives: "she had decided on her plan of action"
▪ give a judgement concerning a matter or legal case: "the courts decided in favour of the New York claimants"
▪ come to a decision about (something): "the council will decide the fate of the homes"Similaradjudicatearbitrateadjudgejudgeumpirerefereeheartryexaminemake a judgement onpass judgement onsit in judgement onpronounce judgement onpronounce ongive a verdict onmake a ruling onrule oninformal:ref
▪ resolve or settle (a question or contest):"an exciting game was decided by a 65th-minute goal"Similarsettleresolvebring to a conclusiondeterminework outanswerclinchconfirminformal:sort outfigure out
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘bring to a settlement’): from French décider, from Latin decidere ‘determine’, from de- ‘off’ + caedere ‘cut’.