decision-making

IPA/dɪˈsɪʒn meɪkɪŋ/
KK[dɪsˈɪʒənmˌekɪŋ]IPA/dɪˈsɪʒn meɪkɪŋ/

decision-making — noun

1. the act of selecting what to do from several possible paths after thinking about

1.nounB2
Definition

the act of selecting what to do from several possible paths after thinking about the facts, particularly when the choice is important and a team, committee, or company is taking part

Example

The committee's decision-making was slow because members could not agree on the budget.

possessive: [group]'s decision-making

Faisal joined the company's decision-making team after years of experience in sales.

attributive use: decision-making team / decision-making process / decision-making body

Common collocations
  • decision-making process
  • decision-making power
  • decision-making body
  • decision-making skills
  • collective decision-making
  • ethical decision-making
  • responsible decision-making
Synonyms
  • judgment

    more personal and individual; less focused on group process

  • deliberation

    more formal and emphasizes careful discussion before a choice

  • problem-solving

    broader — includes identifying and understanding the problem, not just choosing

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

decision-making + noun (attributive)

adjective + decision-making

Usage Note

Often placed before a noun to describe related concepts: 'decision-making process', 'decision-making body', 'decision-making power'. Can be written with or without a hyphen ('decision making'), though the hyphenated form is more common in formal writing.

Common Mistakes

The manager's decision-making was to hire a new assistant.
The manager's decision was to hire a new assistant.
'decision-making' refers to the process of deciding, not the final choice itself.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Judgment, deliberation, and problem-solving all relate to decision-making but emphasize different aspects. Decision-making is the broadest term, covering the entire process of identifying options and choosing. Judgment focuses on the mental ability to form sound opinions — it is more about personal wisdom than a repeatable process. Deliberation highlights the slow, careful discussion phase that often precedes a decision in group settings; it is narrower and more formal. Problem-solving extends beyond choosing: it includes defining the issue, generating possible solutions, and implementing them. In practice, a manager may use decision-making skills to pick a supplier, show good judgment by trusting an experienced employee, lead a deliberation to hear all viewpoints, and apply problem-solving when a production line breaks down.

judgment ↗deliberation ↗problem-solving

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • decision-making process
  • shared decision-making
  • ethical decision-making
  • decision-making authority

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

A compound of 'decision' (from Latin decisio, from decidere 'to cut off, settle') and 'making' (from Old English macian 'to make'). The term gained widespread use in the mid-20th century through business management, psychology, and political science literature, where scholars began studying how individuals and groups arrive at choices.