Criteria or Criterion: Which Is Correct?

If you’re wondering whether to use criteria or criterion, the difference is simpler than it first appears. Both words are correct, but they aren’t interchangeable. Criterion is singular, while criteria is plural.

That distinction matters in phrases such as “one of the criteria,” “each criterion,” and “the criteria are met.” Because criteria is so common in everyday English, it’s sometimes treated as though it were singular, which is where much of the confusion comes from.

In this article, I’ll show you exactly when to use criterion and criteria, how to pronounce them, which verb agrees with each form, and how to avoid common mistakes.

The short answer: Use “criterion” when you mean one standard or requirement. Use “criteria” when you mean two or more standards or requirements.

Form	Number	Meaning	Example
Criterion	Singular	One standard or requirement used for judging something	Cost is an important criterion.
Criteria	Plural	Two or more standards or requirements used for judging something	Cost and quality are important criteria.

The Main Difference: Criterion Is Singular and Criteria Is Plural

The main difference between criterion and criteria is grammatical number.

Criterion is the singular form. You use it when referring to one standard, principle, condition, or basis used to judge, evaluate, or decide something.

Criteria is the plural form. You use it when referring to more than one such standard, principle, condition, or basis.

For example:

• Criterion: Price is one criterion we consider.
• Criteria: Price, quality, and reliability are three criteria we consider.

A useful comparison is:

• one criterion
• two criteria
• several criteria
• each criterion
• these criteria

So, if you can replace the word with “standard,” you probably need criterion. If “standards” makes sense, you probably need criteria.

What Does Criterion Mean?

A criterion is a standard, condition, or principle used to make a judgment or decision.

Suppose you’re buying a new laptop and battery life is especially important to you. Battery life could be one criterion you use to compare different models.

Other examples include:

• Age is one criterion for eligibility.
• Accuracy is the most important criterion in this test.
• The final criterion is customer satisfaction.
• Cost should not be the only criterion for making the decision.

Because criterion is singular, it normally takes a singular verb:

• The criterion is clear.
• This criterion applies to every applicant.
• Each criterion has a different weight.

How to Use Criterion in a Sentence

Here are some natural examples of criterion used correctly:

• Experience is an important criterion for the position.
• The main criterion is academic performance.
• Price wasn’t our only criterion when choosing a hotel.
• Each criterion must be considered separately.
• Safety should be the first criterion when selecting the equipment.
• This criterion applies to every participant.
• One criterion for admission is a strong academic record.
• Reliability was the deciding criterion.
• The final criterion concerns customer service.
• We added another criterion to the evaluation process.

In all of these sentences, criterion refers to one individual standard or condition.

What Does Criteria Mean?

Criteria is the plural of criterion. It refers to multiple standards, conditions, or principles used to judge or evaluate something.

For example:

• We use five criteria to evaluate applications.
• The selection criteria are listed below.
• These criteria apply to all candidates.
• Quality and price are our main criteria.

Because criteria is plural in standard formal English, it normally takes a plural verb:

• The criteria are clear.
• These criteria apply to everyone.
• The criteria have changed.

Not:

• The criteria is clear.
• This criteria applies to everyone.

You may encounter criteria being used as a singular noun in informal usage. However, if you want to follow the traditional and widely expected distinction—particularly in academic, professional, edited, and formal writing—use criterion for the singular and criteria for the plural.

Criteria or Criterion: Which One Should You Use?

Your choice depends on how many standards or requirements you mean.

Use criterion for one:

• This criterion is important.
• We have one final criterion.
• Each criterion is scored separately.

Use criteria for more than one:

• These criteria are important.
• We have five criteria.
• All the criteria have been satisfied.

Here’s an easy way to check your sentence:

If you mean…	Use	Example
One standard	Criterion	This criterion is essential.
Two standards	Criteria	We considered two criteria.
Several standards	Criteria	Several criteria were used.
Each individual standard	Criterion	Each criterion was reviewed.
A group of standards	Criteria	The criteria were reviewed.

One of the Criteria or Criterion?

The correct phrase is “one of the criteria.”

This construction sometimes causes confusion because the sentence begins with one. However, the phrase “one of the…” is followed by a plural noun.

For example:

• one of the students
• one of the reasons
• one of the requirements
• one of the criteria

So you would write:

Correct: Experience is one of the criteria for selection.

Incorrect: Experience is one of the criterion for selection.

Think of one of the criteria as meaning one member of a group of criteria. The group contains multiple criteria, even though you’re referring to one of them.

If there is only a single standard altogether, you can simply say:

• Experience is the only criterion.

Each Criteria or Each Criterion?

Use each criterion, not each criteria, when following the standard singular/plural distinction.

Each refers to individual members of a group one at a time, so the noun following it is normally singular:

• each student
• each requirement
• each condition
• each criterion

For example:

• Each criterion is worth ten points.
• Each criterion must be met.
• We evaluated each criterion separately.
• Each criterion has its own weighting.

Compare that with:

• Each criterion is clearly defined.
• The criteria are clearly defined.

That contrast is a useful way to remember which form you need.

These Criteria or These Criterion?

The correct phrase is “these criteria.”

These is plural, so it should be paired with the plural noun criteria:

Correct: These criteria are used to evaluate applicants.

Incorrect: These criterion are used to evaluate applicants.

For one criterion, use the singular demonstrative this:

• This criterion is important.
• These criteria are important.

The same pattern applies to that and those:

• That criterion needs clarification.
• Those criteria need clarification.

Any Two Criteria or Criterion?

Use “any two criteria.”

The number two requires a plural noun, and the plural of criterion is criteria.

For example:

• Choose any two criteria from the list.
• Applicants must satisfy any two criteria.
• Compare the products using any two criteria.

Similarly, you would say:

• one criterion
• two criteria
• three criteria
• many criteria
• several criteria

A Set of Criteria or Criterion?

The natural expression is “a set of criteria.”

Although set is singular, the set contains multiple individual criteria:

• We developed a set of criteria for evaluating proposals.
• The committee agreed on a new set of criteria.
• Every application is assessed using the same set of criteria.

If there is only one standard, you don’t need a set of. You can simply call it a criterion.

Criteria Is or Are Met?

In standard usage, write “the criteria are met,” because criteria is plural.

Correct: The criteria are met.

Correct: All the criteria have been met.

Correct: The criterion is met.

Incorrect in standard formal usage: The criteria is met.

The same principle applies to other verbs:

• The criterion was changed.
• The criteria were changed.
• This criterion has been satisfied.
• These criteria have been satisfied.

If you’re writing something formal, checking the verb is an easy way to catch an accidental singular use of criteria.

Criteria or Criterias?

The standard plural is criteria, not criterias.

The forms are:

• Singular: criterion
• Plural: criteria

So you should write:

Correct: We considered several criteria.

Incorrect: We considered several criterias.

You don’t need to add -s to criteria because it is already plural.

Criteria and Criterion Examples

Seeing the two forms side by side makes the distinction much easier.

Sentences With “Criterion”

• Cost is an important criterion.
• Speed was the deciding criterion.
• This criterion doesn’t apply to everyone.
• One criterion has been removed.
• Each criterion receives a separate score.
• Reliability is our primary criterion.
• The first criterion concerns safety.
• Another criterion is ease of use.
• That criterion was difficult to measure.
• No single criterion should determine the result.

Sentences With “Criteria”

• We considered several criteria before making our decision.
• The criteria are explained in the application form.
• These criteria apply to every candidate.
• All criteria must be satisfied.
• The judges used five criteria to score each entry.
• Our selection criteria include price and quality.
• Those criteria were established last year.
• The criteria have changed since the previous review.
• Different organizations may use different criteria.
• Applicants who meet the criteria can proceed to the next stage.

Common Mistakes With Criterion and Criteria

Most mistakes happen because criteria sounds natural to many speakers even when only one standard is being discussed. Keeping the singular/plural distinction in mind prevents the most common errors.

Incorrect: Price is an important criteria.
Correct: Price is an important criterion.

Only one standard—price—is being discussed, so the singular criterion is needed.

Incorrect: Each criteria is scored separately.
Correct: Each criterion is scored separately.

Each takes the singular form here.

Incorrect: These criterion are difficult to satisfy.
Correct: These criteria are difficult to satisfy.

These indicates that more than one criterion is involved.

Incorrect: We have three criterions.
Correct: We have three criteria.

The standard plural of criterion is criteria, not criterions.

Incorrect: The criteria is too strict.
Correct: The criterion is too strict.

If you’re referring to one standard, use criterion. If you mean several, write “the criteria are too strict.”

How to Pronounce Criterion and Criteria

The two words differ not only in grammatical number but also in pronunciation.

Criterion is commonly pronounced:

kry-TEER-ee-uhn

IPA: /kraɪˈtɪəriən/ in many British pronunciations and /kraɪˈtɪriən/ in many American pronunciations.

The main stress falls on the second syllable: TEER.

Criteria is commonly pronounced:

kry-TEER-ee-uh

IPA: /kraɪˈtɪəriə/ in many British pronunciations and /kraɪˈtɪriə/ in many American pronunciations.

Again, the main stress falls on the second syllable.

A simple way to hear the distinction is:

• criterion → kry-TEER-ee-uhn
• criteria → kry-TEER-ee-uh

The endings are different, so listening for that final sound can help you distinguish the singular from the plural in speech.

Is There a British vs. American English Difference?

There is no basic British-versus-American spelling distinction between criterion and criteria.

In both standard British and American English:

• criterion is the singular form
• criteria is the plural form

So this isn’t like colour/color or tyre/tire, where the preferred spelling changes by region.

Pronunciation can vary somewhat between accents, but the grammatical distinction remains the same.

Where Do Criterion and Criteria Come From?

The unusual singular/plural relationship makes more sense when you look at the words’ history.

Criterion ultimately comes from Greek, and criteria reflects the Greek-derived plural pattern. English retained this irregular plural instead of forming criterions in the usual English way.

That is why the pair may look unfamiliar if you’re expecting the normal pattern of adding -s or -es to make a noun plural.

Similar Greek-derived singular/plural patterns appear in words such as:

• phenomenon → phenomena

You don’t need to know the etymology to use criterion and criteria correctly, but it explains why their relationship isn’t immediately obvious.

How to Remember the Difference

A quick memory trick is to connect criterion with one.

Both words end with -on:

criteriON = ONE

It isn’t an etymological rule, but it can be a handy reminder:

• one → criterion
• more than one → criteria

You can also memorize this short pattern:

One criterion. Several criteria.

If that phrase becomes automatic, most of the common grammar mistakes disappear with it.

Set Spelling Criteria for Yourself

If you regularly mix up the forms, give yourself three simple checks whenever you edit your writing:

• If there is one standard, use criterion.
• If there are multiple standards, use criteria.
• If you write criteria, check that nearby verbs and demonstratives are plural: these criteria are, not this criteria is.

This is especially useful in academic papers, applications, reports, evaluation forms, and professional documents, where criteria appears frequently.

FAQs About Criteria and Criterion

Is it criteria or criterion?

Both are correct. Use criterion for one standard or requirement and criteria for two or more. For example, “Cost is one criterion,” but “Cost and quality are two criteria.”

Which is plural: criteria or criterion?

Criteria is plural. Criterion is singular.

Is criteria singular or plural?

In standard formal English, criteria is plural. Its singular form is criterion. Although singular criteria can occur in informal modern usage, maintaining the traditional distinction is the safest choice in edited writing.

Is “one of the criteria” correct?

Yes. One of the criteria is correct because the construction one of the is followed by a plural noun. For example: “Price is one of the criteria we considered.”

Should I write “each criteria” or “each criterion”?

Write each criterion. Each treats the members of a group individually, so the singular noun criterion is appropriate: “Each criterion is scored separately.”

Is it “this criteria” or “this criterion”?

Use this criterion for one standard. For multiple standards, use these criteria.

Is “criterias” a word?

Criterias is not the standard plural form you should use in ordinary edited English. The established plural of criterion is criteria.

Should I say “the criteria is” or “the criteria are”?

Use the criteria are when criteria means multiple standards. For one standard, write the criterion is.

Can criterion and criteria be used interchangeably?

Not when you are maintaining the standard singular/plural distinction. Criterion refers to one standard, while criteria refers to multiple standards.

What does “criteria” mean?

Criteria means multiple standards, conditions, or principles used to judge, evaluate, compare, or decide something. For example, price, quality, and durability could all be criteria when choosing a product.

Conclusion

The difference between criteria and criterion comes down to singular and plural. Criterion means one standard, condition, or principle used for judging something, while criteria is its plural form.

The easiest pattern to remember is “one criterion, several criteria.” That also helps with related grammar: write each criterion, this criterion, these criteria, one of the criteria, and the criteria are met.

Once you remember that basic singular/plural relationship, choosing between criterion and criteria becomes straightforward.