What does "choice" mean?
An option; a decision; an opportunity to choose or select something.
Choice
/t͡ʃɔɪs/ adj, intj, name, noun, slang
adj, intj, name, noun, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An option; a decision; an opportunity to choose or select something.
- Grammar: choice is listed as adj, intj, name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: option, alternative, possibility, selection.
- Useful contrasts: bad, average, coercion.
- Usage evidence: You have no choice in this matter.
How to use "choice"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "choice" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "choice" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "choice" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "choice" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "choice" is acting as adj, intj, name, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "option" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "choice", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An option; a decision; an opportunity to choose or select something. countable, uncountable
"Do I have a choice of what color to paint it?"
- 2 Acronym of Custom Health Option and Individual Care Expense abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
"This provision permits employees enrolled in a CHOICE arrangement to use a salary reduction to pay for health plan premiums purchased through an Exchange."
- 3 the act of choosing or selecting wordnet
- 4 The power to choose. uncountable
"She didn't leave us much choice."
- 5 the person or thing chosen or selected wordnet
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 One selection or preference; that which is chosen or decided; the outcome of a decision. countable, uncountable
"The ice cream sundae is a popular choice for dessert."
- 7 one of a number of things from which only one can be chosen wordnet
- 8 Anything that can be chosen. countable, uncountable
"You have three choices: vanilla, strawberry or chocolate."
- 9 The best or most preferable part. countable, uncountable, usually
"The flower and choice / Of many provinces from bound to bound."
- 10 Care and judgement in selecting; discrimination, selectiveness. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"I imagine they [the apothegms of Caesar] were collected with judgment and choice."
- 11 A sufficient number to choose among. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"And, which is more, she is not so divine, / So full replete with choice of all delights"
- 12 Ellipsis of axiom of choice. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
"5. ZF* is the theory obtained from the aforementioned axiomatics (without choice) by adding the Axiom of Inaccessible Cardinals to be explained in the next secion; similarly, we get ZFC*."
Adjective
- 1 Especially good or preferred.
"It's a choice location, but you will pay more to live there."
- 2 Careful in choosing; discriminating. obsolete
"that such iron moulds as these shall have autority to knaw out the choicest periods of exquisitest books, and to commit such a treacherous fraud against the orphan remainders of worthiest men after death, the more sorrow will belong to that haples race of men, whose misfortune it is to have understanding."
Adjective
- 1 of superior grade wordnet
- 2 appealing to refined taste wordnet
Intj
- 1 Cool; excellent. New-Zealand, slang
""I'm going to the movies." —"Choice!""
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"You have no choice in this matter."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "choice"?
Common synonyms include: option, alternative, possibility, selection, acceptance, adjudgment.
How do you use "choice" in a sentence?
You have no choice in this matter.
How do you pronounce "choice"?
Pronounced /t͡ʃɔɪs/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English chois, from Old French chois (“choice”), from choisir (“to choose, perceive”), possibly via assumed Vulgar Latin *causīre (“to choose”), from Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐌿𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (kausjan, “to make a choice, taste, test, choose”), from Proto-Germanic *kauzijaną, from *keusaną (“to choose”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵews- (“to choose”). Akin to Old High German kiosan (“to choose”), Old English ċēosan (“to choose”), Old Norse kjósa (“to choose”). More at choose.
Etymology 2
From Middle English choys, from a merger of the noun above and Middle English chyse, chuse, chys, chis (“choice, excellent”), from Old English ċīes (“choice; dainty; nice”), related to Old English ċēosan (“to choose”).