Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use decide in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb

Decide means to resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle. Example: “The election will be decided on foreign policies.”

Examples of decide by meaning

verbTo resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle.

  • The election will be decided on foreign policies.
  • It was decided to meet here at midnight.
  • Her last-minute goal decided the game.

verbTo make a judgment, especially after deliberation.

  • You must decide between good and evil.
  • I have decided that it is healthier to walk to work.
  • Since this cowl released a flutter of moths and parted at the shoulder as he was getting into it, he decided that it must be his own.1954, Hubert Van Zeller, Downside By and Large, page 277

verbTo cause someone to come to a decision.

  • Your admonition decided me against my intended course of action.
  • It decides me to look into the matter, for if it is worth anyone's while to take so much trouble, there must be something in it.1920, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Three Gables, Norton, published 2005, page 1537

verbOf a Turing machine: to return a correct answer (for some yes-or-no problem) on every possible input.

  • No Turing Machine can decide the halting problem.
  • First, the hierarchy theorems tell us that a Turing machine can decide more languages in EXPSPACE than it can in PSPACE.1997, Michael Sipser, Introduction to the Theory of Computation, Boston, M.A.: PWS Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 313

More sentences with decide

  • Let's get a quotation for repairing the roof before we decide whether it's worth doing.From the entry quotation
  • I couldn't decide which of the pair of designer shirts I preferred, so I bought the pair.From the entry pair
  • I still need to decide which electives to take along with my compulsory courses next semester.From the entry elective
  • I'm dreading getting the results of the test, as it could decide my whole life.From the entry dread
  • You can decide to use the bumpers to avoid the ball going down the gutter every time.From the entry gutter
  • Before removing objectionable material, you'll have to decide what will offend people.From the entry objectionable
  • If you can't decide which option to go for, flip a coin.From the entry flip
  • We are trying to decide what the most ethical course of action would be.From the entry ethical
  • If you decide to go through with the surgery, remember to leave time to recover.From the entry go through with
  • The President laid out the scenario we face if the United States decides to cut and run.From the entry cut and run
  • His subprofessional workmanship led me to decide to never hire him again.From the entry subprofessional
  • You’d better do some serious soul-searching before you decide to leave her.From the entry soul-searching
  • There's no chance to sleep on the matter. You have to decide now.From the entry sleep on
  • I think we should feel out your mom's thoughts about this before we decide anything.From the entry feel out
  • Have you considered an annuity? Give it some thought and let me know what you decide.From the entry give thought
  • They couldn't decide which song to play.From the entry which
  • I can't decide whether to get divorced now or wait.From the entry whether
  • I'll leave it to you to decide.From the entry leave
  • The new novel was optioned by the film studio, but they'll probably never decide to make a movie from it.From the entry option
  • He was lost in careful meditation on how best to proceed when a sudden phone call forced him to decide.From the entry meditation
  • We'll decide this on a flip of a coin.From the entry flip
  • The people will decide at the ballot box.From the entry ballot box
  • If you decide to stay the course and finish engineering school, it will mean long hours and sleepless nights.From the entry stay the course
  • Macarons are very difficult to make, so you might as well make plentiful if you do decide to make any.From the entry might as well
  • The leaders held a closed door meeting to decide on a future course of action in the case.From the entry closed door
  • Both economies recklessly decide to hyperinflate their currencies.From the entry hyperinflate
  • The farmer had to decide which crop to grow as his main bet for the coming year. Would it be barley, oats, or something else?From the entry crop
  • The local council conducted a survey of its residents to help it decide whether to go ahead with the roadside waste collection service.From the entry survey
  • The idea of self-willed machines, which could decide to take over the world, scares all the people smart enough to create such devices.From the entry self-willed
  • The committee was self-perpetuating: all it did was hold a meeting to decide when the next meeting was, and consume funds to do so.From the entry self-perpetuating

Meaning of decide

  1. verb To resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle.
  2. verb To make a judgment, especially after deliberation.
  3. verb To cause someone to come to a decision.

Full definition of decide

Questions about decide in a sentence

How do you use decide in a sentence?
Decide is used as a verb. For example: “The election will be decided on foreign policies.”
What is a short sentence with decide?
“Her last-minute goal decided the game.”
What does decide mean?
Decide means to resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: decide (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use decide in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/decide. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.