judgment call

noun

1. Sports. an observational ruling by a referee or umpire that is necessarily subjective because of the disputable nature of the play in question, and one that may be appealed but not protested, as opposed to a matter of official rule interpretation:

   Balks and close plays at first are of course judgment calls, and umpires are human.

2. any subjective or debatable determination; personal opinion or interpretation.

Word History and Origins

Origin of judgment call¹

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

For us, it's a judgment call: What feels like it's relevant to the issues that they're trying to figure out?

From Salon

Anything that falls outside of that should be viewed with presumptive immunity, but lower courts have to make a judgment call by asking themselves if the actions in question “enable the President to carry out his constitutional duties without undue caution.”

From Slate

“That depends on how intricate the sequences are going to be, how intimate. It’s a judgment call and a money call, and the money usually wins.”

From Los Angeles Times

No test measures for excited delirium, so paramedics faced a judgment call: Which patients were so agitated, strong, impervious to pain and dangerous that they needed to be sedated?

From Seattle Times

“Every time a driver has to make a judgment call like that, parents will complain to Uber and I may get deactivated because of it. Uber has done good things as far as safety and security, but there’s also a bunch of holes in the product.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• attitude
• concept
• consideration
• feeling
• impression
• judgment
• mind
• notion
• opinion
• point of view
• sentiment
• thought