Definition of: judge

(juj) noun
1. An officer invested with authority to administer justice.
2. One who decides upon the merits of things, as in contests.
3. One who is competent to decide upon the merits of persons, animals, things, etc.; a connoisseur.
4. In Jewish history, one of the Israelitish rulers from the death of Joshua to the anointing of Saul.
—v. judged, judg·ing v.t.
1. To hear and decide in an official capacity the merits of (a case) or the guilt of (a person); examine and pass judgment on; try.
2. To form an opinion or judgment concerning; evaluate; estimate: to judge a painting.
3. To hold as judgment or opinion; consider; suppose: We judged it the proper time.
4. To govern: said of the ancient Hebrew judges.
—v.i.
5. To act as a judge; sit in judgment.
6. To form a judgment or estimate.
7. To make a judgment or decision. [<OF juge <L judex, -icis <ius right + dic-, root οι dicere speak]
—judg′er noun Synonyms (noun): arbiter, arbitrator, justice, referee, umpire. A judge, in the legal sense, is a judicial officer appointed or elected to preside in courts of law, and to decide legal questions duly brought before him; the name is sometimes given to other legally constituted officers; as, the judges of election; in other relations, any person duly appointed to pass upon the merits of contestants or of competing articles may be called a judge. In various sports the judge is called an umpire or in some cases the referee, as, the umpire of a ball game. In law, a referee is appointed by a court to decide disputed matters between litigants; an arbitrator is chosen by the contending parties to decide matters in dispute without action by a court. In certain cases, an umpire is appointed by a court to decide where arbitrators disagree. Arbiter, with its suggestion of final and absolute decision, has come to be used only in a high or sacred sense; as, war must now be the arbiter, the Supreme Arbiter of our destinies. The judges of certain courts, as the United States Supreme Court, are technically known as justices.