a public officer authorized to hear and decide cases in a court of law; a magistrate charged with the administration of justice.

a person appointed to decide in any competition, contest, or matter at issue; authorized arbiter

the judges of a beauty contest.

a person qualified to pass a critical judgment

a good judge of horses.

an administrative head of Israel in the period between the death of Joshua and the accession to the throne by Saul.

(esp. in rural areas) a county official with supervisory duties, often employed part-time or on an honorary basis.

to pass legal judgment on; pass sentence on (a person)

The court judged him guilty.

to hear evidence or legal arguments in (a case) in order to pass judgment; adjudicate; try

The Supreme Court is judging that case.

to form a judgment or opinion of; decide upon critically

You can't judge a book by its cover.

to decide or settle authoritatively; adjudge

The censor judged the book obscene and forbade its sale.

to infer, think, or hold as an opinion; conclude about or assess

He judged her to be correct.

to make a careful guess about; estimate

We judged the distance to be about four miles.

(of the ancient Hebrew judges) to govern.

to act as a judge; pass judgment

No one would judge between us.

to form an opinion or estimate

I have heard the evidence and will judge accordingly.

to make a mental judgment.

noun

adjudicator , appraiser , arbiter , assessor , authority , bench , chancellor , conciliator , court , critic , evaluator , expert , honor , inspector , intercessor , intermediary , interpreter , judiciary , justice , justice of peace , legal official , magister , magistrate , marshal , moderator , negotiator , peacemaker , reconciler , referee , umpire , warden , commentator , reviewer , jurisprudent , jurist , justice of the peace , arbitrator , cognoscente , connoisseur , deemster (isle of man) , judger , judicator , judicature , mediator , ordinary , puisne , solomon

verb

act on , adjudge , adjudicate , appraise , appreciate , approximate , arbitrate , arrive , ascertain , assess , check , collect , conclude , condemn , consider , criticize , decide , decree , deduct , derive , determine , discern , distinguish , doom , draw , esteem , estimate , evaluate , examine , find , gather , give a hearing , make , make out , mediate , pass sentence , place , pronounce sentence , put , rate , reckon , referee , resolve , review , rule , sentence , settle , sit , size up , suppose , test , try , umpire , value , deduce , understand , assay , calculate , gauge , valuate , deem , hold , opine , think , analyze , appraiser , arbiter , arbitrator , assessor , bench , chancellor , connoisseur , court , critic , critique , discriminate , expert , honor , intermediary , justice , magistrate , mediator , rank , recuse , ref , regard , ump , weigh