What does adjudicating mean?
Adjudicating is the present participle of "adjudicate," a formal verb meaning to make an official judgment or decision about a dispute. When a court adjudicates a case, it hears the arguments and issues a binding ruling; when an arbitration body adjudicates a disagreement between parties, it resolves the matter authoritatively outside the courtroom. The word also extends to competitions, where judges adjudicate performances to determine winners. Because it carries connotations of formality, impartiality, and finality, "adjudicating" appears most often in legal writing, administrative proceedings, and journalism covering courts and tribunals rather than in casual speech. It derives from the Latin "adjudicare," meaning "to award judicially," formed from "ad-" (toward) and "judicare" (to judge), placing it firmly in the family of law-related words such as "judicial" and "judgment." Understanding it signals familiarity with formal institutional language.
To make a formal judgment or decision about a dispute or contested matter, especially in a legal or official setting.
"The tribunal is currently adjudicating dozens of compensation claims."
Typically takes the dispute, claim, or case as its direct object.
To serve as a judge or arbiter, particularly in a competition.
"She has been adjudicating at the piano finals for a decade."
The same Latin root that gives us "judge" and "jury" hides inside "adjudicating" — every time a tribunal settles a dispute, it's doing what Roman magistrates did two thousand years ago.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of adjudicating
The verb "adjudicate" entered English in the early 17th century from the Latin "adjudicare," meaning "to award or assign judicially," itself built from "ad-" (toward) and "judicare" (to judge). That root traces back further to "jus," the Latin word for law or right, which also underlies English words like "justice," "jury," and "injury." The participle "adjudicating" thus shares its origin with the entire vocabulary of legal judgment.
Related word forms
How adjudicating is actually used
Formal register; used chiefly in legal, administrative, and competitive contexts. In everyday conversation, speakers usually prefer simpler words like "deciding" or "settling."
Easily confused with adjudicating
"Adulterating" means making something impure by adding inferior substances, while "adjudicating" means formally judging or settling a dispute.