council

American  

[kaun-suhl] / ˈkaʊn səl /

noun

• councils
  plural

1. an assembly of persons summoned or convened for consultation, deliberation, or advice.

2. a body of persons specially designated or selected to act in an advisory, administrative, or legislative capacity.

   the governor's council on housing.

3. (in certain British colonies or dependencies) an executive or legislative body assisting the governor.

4. an ecclesiastical assembly for deciding matters of doctrine or discipline.

5. New Testament. the Sanhedrin or other authoritative body.

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council British  

/ ˈkaʊnsəl /

noun

1. an assembly of people meeting for discussion, consultation, etc

   an emergency council

2. a body of people elected or appointed to serve in an administrative, legislative, or advisory capacity

   a student council

3. (sometimes capital) the local governing authority of a town, county, etc

4. a meeting or the deliberation of a council

5. (modifier) of, relating to, provided for, or used by a local council

   a council chamber

   council offices

6. (modifier) provided by a local council, esp (of housing) at a subsidized rent

   a council house

   a council estate

7. an administrative or legislative assembly, esp the upper house of a state parliament in Australia

8. Christianity an assembly of bishops, theologians, and other representatives of several churches or dioceses, convened for regulating matters of doctrine or discipline

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Commonly Confused

Council, counsel, and consul are not interchangeable. Council is a noun. Its most common sense is “an assembly of persons convened for deliberation or the like.” It is generally used with a singular verb. A member of such a group is a councilor. Counsel is both noun and verb. Its most common meaning as a noun is “advice given to another”: His counsel on domestic relations is sound. A person giving such advice is a counselor. In law, counsel means “legal adviser or advisers” and can be either singular or plural. As a verb, counsel means “to advise.” The noun consul refers to the representative of a government who guards the welfare of its citizens in a foreign country.

See counsel

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subcouncil
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• councils
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of council

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English co(u)nsile, from Anglo-French cuncil ( e ), Old French concile, from Late Latin concilium “synod, church council” ( Latin: “assembly”), probably equivalent to Latin con- con- + -cil(āre), combining form of calāre “to summon, convoke” + -ium -ium; Middle English -s- by association with Anglo-French cunseil counsel

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Explanation

A council is a group of people that gathers for the purpose of giving advice or making decisions. If you’re president of the student council, for example, you might organize people to get the hallways at your school painted purple. Council comes from the Latin word concilium for "group of people, meeting," which is what it basically means today. There are student councils, honor councils, or city councils, to name a few. People working together to take care of business — that’s a council. Of course, that council might give advice, or counsel (with an s) people on what to do. Not the same word — an honor council might counsel a principal about how to address cheating in school, for example.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

council councils

Meanwhile, inflows into gold-backed exchange-traded funds rose by 211 tons, lifting holdings to a record 4,256 tons and generating $31 billion in quarterly inflows, according to the council.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

That followed a council meeting at which Infantino apologised for the abandoned sell-off plot but failed to offer a full explanation for how the proposal was devised, asking that questions be submitted in writing.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

Much of her work since joining the council has been geared around something homelessness advocate Mollie Lowery told her when they first met: “Whatever it takes for as long as it takes.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

Tyler was born in a Neath council house where she grew up with a love of music before being discovered by talent scout Roger Bell in a Swansea club.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

“That may be true, but since you have only just appeared, the council vote stands,” said Mr. Dimblewit.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

Local Government Association chair Eamonn O'Brien called for a re-set of relations between the government and local councils across the country.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

She urged councils to review their readiness, adding authorities were working to ensure that "everything that can be done is being done".

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

Police forces and councils said they have been dealing with flooding and trees down as Storm Boelo followed Storm Austen over the weekend.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

The councils have now formally submitted their revised funding proposals, under the Sustainable Communities Act, asking the government to reconsider its decision.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

They’d somehow teamed up with the Nightbeast to intimidate the town councils and make sure Amendment S didn’t pass.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

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