decide
- 01 A1 Beginner
to choose something after thinking about several possibilities.
to reach a conclusion or select a course of action after deliberation. Often used with an infinitive or a 'that' clause.
Simple“We couldn't decide which movie to watch, so we stayed home instead.”
In context“After reviewing all the available data, the board decided to postpone the merger until the following fiscal year.”
UsageCommonly followed by 'to' + verb, 'that' + clause, or 'on' + noun.
PitfallI decided for staying at home. I decided to stay at home.When 'decide' is followed by an action, use the 'to' infinitive, not 'for' with a gerund.
- 02 B1 Intermediate
to be the reason that a competition or a problem ends in a certain way.
to determine the outcome of a contest, dispute, or uncertain situation.
Simple“A late goal in the final minute decided the match.”
In context“The supreme court's ruling will finally decide the legal ownership of the disputed territory.”
UsageIn this sense, the subject is often the event or factor that causes the result.
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
to make someone else make a choice.
to cause someone to reach a specific decision or conclusion.
Simple“The high price of the car finally decided me against buying it.”
In context“It was her passion for social justice that ultimately decided him to join the non-profit organisation.”
UsageOften used in the pattern 'decide someone to do something' or 'decide someone against something'.
- 04 C2 Proficiency
to give a correct yes-or-no answer to a problem every time.
Of an algorithm or Turing machine: to provide a correct binary output for every possible input within a given set.
Simple“The program is designed to decide if a number is prime or not.”
In context“A fundamental question in complexity theory is whether a specific machine can decide the language in polynomial time.”
Usage decide to take
From Middle English deciden, from Old French decider, from Latin dēcīdere, infinitive of dēcīdō (“cut off, decide”), from dē (“down from”) + caedō (“cut”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.