- a standard by which something can be judged or decided
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
cri•te•ri•on /kraɪˈtɪriən/USA pronunciation
n. [countable], pl. -te•ri•a /-ˈtɪriə/USA pronunciation -te•ri•ons.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Pronounsa standard by which to judge or criticize:Which criterion is the most important when you grade essays?
cri•te•ri•on
(krī tēr′ē ən),USA pronunciation n., pl. -te•ri•a (-tēr′ē ə),USA pronunciation -te•ri•ons.
cri•te′ri•al, adj.
- Pronounsa standard of judgment or criticism;
a rule or principle for evaluating or testing something.
- Greek krité̄rion a standard, equivalent. to kri- variant stem of krí̄nein to separate, decide + -tērion neuter suffix of means (akin to Latin -tōrium -tory2)
- 1605–15
- measure, touchstone, yardstick. See standard.
- 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 rather infrequently in edited prose, it continues strongly in use as a plural in standard English, with criterion as the singular.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
criterion /kraɪˈtɪərɪən/ n ( pl -ria /-rɪə/, -rions)
Criteria, the plural of criterion, is not acceptable as a singular noun: this criterion is not valid; these criteria are not valid