the act of making up your mind about something; "the burden of decision was his"; "he drew his conclusions quickly"
a position or opinion or judgment reached after consideration; "a decision unfavorable to the opposition"; "his conclusion took the evidence into account"; "satisfied with the panel's determination"
the outcome of a game or contest; "the team dropped three decisions in a row"
(boxing) a victory won on points when no knockout has occurred; "had little trouble in taking a unanimous decision over his opponent"
a note explaining an absence; "he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him"
a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.; "he kept finding excuses to stay"; "every day he had a new alibi for not getting a job"; "his transparent self-justification was unacceptable"
excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with; "excuse someone's behavior"; "She condoned her husband's occasional infidelities"
serve as a reason or cause or justification of; "Your need to sleep late does not excuse your late arrival at work"; "Her recent divorce may explain her reluctance to date again"
grant exemption or release to; "Please excuse me from this class"
ask for permission to be released from an engagement
accept an excuse for; "Please excuse my dirty hands"
an unpleasant or disastrous destiny; "everyone was aware of the approaching doom but was helpless to avoid it"; "that's unfortunate but it isn't the end of the world"
make certain of the failure or destruction of; "This decision will doom me to lose my position"
a legally binding command or decision entered on the court record (as if issued by a court or judge); "a friend in New Mexico said that the order caused no trouble out there"