adjudication

American  

[uh-joo-di-key-shuhn] / əˌdʒu dɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. an act of adjudicating.

2. Law.

   1. the act of a court in making an order, judgment, or decree.

   2. a judicial decision or sentence.

   3. a court decree in bankruptcy.

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Other Word Forms

• nonadjudication noun
• readjudication noun

Etymology

Origin of adjudication

First recorded in 1685–95, adjudication is from the Late Latin word adjūdicātiōn- (stem of adjūdicātiō ). See adjudicate, -ion

Explanation

After a long court trial, the judge reviews all the evidence to come to a conclusion about a case and that process is called adjudication. Adjudication comes from the Old French ajugier meaning "to judge, pass judgment on." An adjudication results in a formal judgment or decision given by a court. Often these adjudications lead to the making of history, like the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka trial in which the process of adjudication resulted in a decision that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional.

Example Sentences

The Tesla case also subtly revealed how certain corporate-governance ideas long debated in academic circles but rarely used in practice have begun to influence the Delaware courts’ adjudication.

From Barron's • Jan. 14, 2026

Barton Mackey, a spokesperson for the Social Security Administration, confirmed in a series of emailed statements that the Trump administration is working on what he called “improvements to the disability adjudication process.”

From Salon • Nov. 2, 2025

Congress can instead assign them to an agency for initial adjudication, subject to judicial review.

From Slate • Oct. 14, 2025

It said that in 24% of cases, the adjudication actually increased the rent by a higher amount than the landlord's original proposal.

From BBC • Sep. 2, 2025

So the dispute between Reinier de Graaf and Jan Swammerdam over the discovery of the egg within the ovary, which began in 1672, was referred to the Royal Society in London for adjudication.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton