Word
umpire
Phoneticsum·pire
US/ˈəmˌpaɪɝ/
UK/ˈʌmpaɪə/
Definitions
01sports official
n. a person whose job is to make sure players follow the rules in sports like tennis, cricket, or baseball.
n. an official who presides over a sporting contest to ensure adherence to the rules and to adjudicate on plays.
“The tennis umpire called the ball out, even though the player disagreed.”
“The cricket umpire signaled a boundary after the ball crossed the rope, much to the delight of the home crowd.”
Pitfall
The umpire of the football match was very strict.
The referee of the football match was very strict.
Use 'referee' for football (soccer), basketball, and rugby; use 'umpire' for tennis, cricket, and baseball.
02a mediator
n. a person chosen to settle a disagreement between two groups.
n. a person appointed to arbitrate between contending parties or to settle a dispute.
“The two companies asked an independent umpire to help them reach an agreement.”
“In complex industrial disputes, an impartial umpire is often appointed to ensure that the final settlement is fair to both the union and the management.”
Formal
Synonyms
03to officiate
v. to act as the official who controls a sports match.
v. to perform the duties of an umpire in a sporting event; can be used with or without a direct object.
“He was invited to umpire the final match of the local tournament.”
“She has umpired at the professional level for over a decade, earning a reputation for making consistent and fair decisions under pressure.”
Real-World Examples
“For example, when air pollution is worse, baseball umpires make more mistakes .” Etymology
From a Middle English rebracketing of a noumpere as an oumpere, from Old French nonper (“odd number, not even (as a tie-breaking arbitrator)”), from non (“not”) + per (“equal”), from Latin par (“equal”). Doublet of nonpareil.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domains
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englishreference.com/q/umpire