What does criteria mean?
Word: Criteria
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Criteria means the rules or tests used to judge or decide something. Criteria is plural; one of them is a criterion.
Synonyms: measures, benchmarks, requirements
How do you spell criteria?
Syllables: cri - te - ri - a
Tricky part: The vowels run i, e, i, a. Students write critiria or creteria.
Watch out for: critiria, creteria, criterea
Memory tip: Chant the vowels in order, i, e, i, a, four times out loud, and the order will stick.
Criteria in a sentence
Example 1: The judges used three criteria to choose the best painting.
Example 2: Marks, attendance and behaviour are the criteria for the school prize.
Example 3: One criterion for the trip is a signed form from a parent.
Fun Fact
Criteria and criterion come from the Greek kriterion, a means of judging, from krites, a judge.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are misspelt. Choose the meaning of the one spelt correctly.
1. phenomona 2. criteria 3. curiculum 4. bactiria
a) the subjects taught in a school or course
b) tiny living things, some of which cause disease
c) standards used to judge or decide something
d) facts or events that can be seen or studied
Show answer
c) standards used to judge or decide something. Each of the others has one slip: bactiria and phenomona have a wrong vowel, and curiculum has lost an r.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to criteria as used in the sentence:
To win the science fair, a project had to meet strict criteria for originality, safety and clear explanation.
a) deadlines
b) judges
c) prizes
d) standards
Show answer
d) standards. Criteria are what a project is measured against, not the people who do the measuring.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
critteria
a) r
b) i
c) t
d) e
Show answer
c) t. There is only one t in the word, between the first i and the e.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which question asks about the criteria for a competition?
a) Where will the projects be displayed?
b) When will the results be announced?
c) Who will hand out the prizes?
d) On what basis will the projects be judged?
Show answer
d) On what basis will the projects be judged?
2. The judges said Mira's poem 'met all the criteria'. This means the poem ____.
a) won first prize outright
b) did everything the rules required
c) was read aloud on stage
d) was the longest entry
Show answer
b) did everything the rules required
