# decision

/dɪˈsɪʒən/ (US) · /dɪsˈɪʒən/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/decision
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. a choice or judgment

noun · CEFR A2

a choice you make after thinking about several options.

For teachers: a conclusion or resolution reached after consideration. Countable in most general contexts.

- It was a difficult decision, but she finally chose the blue car.
- The board of directors reached a unanimous decision to expand the company's operations into the European market by the end of the fiscal year.

### 2. the act of deciding

noun · CEFR B1

the process of making up your mind about something.

For teachers: the action or process of deciding something. Often uncountable when referring to the abstract process.

- The decision of the winner took the judges a long time.
- The decision of the case rested entirely on the testimony of the final witness, whose evidence proved to be indisputable.

### 3. firmness of mind

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

the ability to make choices quickly and stay sure about them.

For teachers: the quality of being firm, resolute, or determined. Uncountable in this sense.

- The manager acted with great decision to solve the crisis.
- She lacked the decision required to lead a team through such a volatile period of corporate restructuring.

### 4. judged result

noun · CEFR B2

a result in a sport like boxing where judges pick the winner because there was no knockout.

For teachers: a result arrived at by the judges when there is no clear winner at the end of a contest. Common in combat sports.

- The champion won the fight by a split decision after twelve rounds.
- Despite the challenger's aggressive start, the champion retained his title through a unanimous decision based on superior technical precision.

### 5. to win by points

verb · CEFR C2 · Technical

to beat an opponent in a sport by getting more points from the judges.

For teachers: to defeat an opponent by a decision of the judges rather than by a knockout or submission. Transitive use.

- The young boxer managed to decision the veteran in a close match.
- He was able to decision his opponent by consistently landing cleaner strikes throughout the final three rounds of the tournament.

## Examples

- I need to make a decision about my holiday.
- After looking at three different apartments, they finally reached a decision and signed the lease.
- The committee's final decision was delayed by several hours as members debated the long-term financial implications of the proposed merger.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.