criterion
[ krahy-teer-ee-uhn ]
/ kraɪˈtɪər i ən /
noun, plural cri·te·ri·a [krahy-teer-ee-uh] /kraɪˈtɪər i ə/, cri·te·ri·ons.
a standard of judgment or criticism; a rule or principle for evaluating or testing something.
Origin of criterion
1605–15; < Greek
kritḗrion a standard, equivalent to
kri- variant stem of
krī́nein to separate, decide +
-tērion neuter suffix of means (akin to Latin
-tōrium
-tory2)
SYNONYMS FOR criterion
usage note for criterion
Like some other nouns borrowed from the Greek,
criterion has both a Greek plural,
criteria, and a plural formed on the English pattern,
criterions. The plural in
-a occurs with far greater frequency than does the
-s plural:
These are the criteria for the selection of candidates. Although
criteria is sometimes used as a singular, most often in speech and only infrequently in edited prose, in standard English, it is more clearly used as a plural with
criterion as the singular.
OTHER WORDS FROM criterion
cri·te·ri·al, adjectiveWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH criterion
criteria criterion (see usage note at the current entry)Words nearby criterion
cristobal,
cristobalite,
cristophe,
crit,
crit.,
criterion,
crithidia,
critic,
critical,
critical angle,
critical apparatus
Example sentences from the Web for criterion
British Dictionary definitions for criterion
criterion
/ (kraɪˈtɪərɪən) /
noun plural -ria (-rɪə) or -rions
a standard by which something can be judged or decided
philosophy
a defining characteristic of something
Word Origin for criterion
C17: from Greek
kritērion from
kritēs judge, from
krinein to decide
usage for criterion
Criteria, the plural of
criterion, is not acceptable as a singular noun:
this criterion is not valid; these criteria are not valid