subcommittee
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of subcommittee
Explanation
When a big working group of people breaks down into smaller groups, those are subcommittees. In government, subcommittees help legislators focus on specific issues, like agriculture or education. The word subcommittee adds the prefix sub-, or "under," to committee — the main committee, or group, is like an umbrella that encompasses every subcommittee below it. You might be on the "wacky candid photos" subcommittee of the Yearbook Club, meaning you're focusing on finding goofy pictures of your classmates, but you're also part of the larger yearbook group. U.S. senators who are on the Appropriations Committee will also be part of a subcommittee, like Science, Labor, or Energy.
Vocabulary lists containing subcommittee
U.S. Government - Middle School and High School
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The Legislative Branch, Sections 4–6
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U.S. Government - Middle School and High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Congresswoman Young Kim, the chairwoman of the subcommittee, opened the hearing by warning Americans: "If you travel to China, Beijing may take you hostage as leverage in diplomatic negotiation."
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
In a March hearing before a Senate budget subcommittee, Corrections Secretary Jeff Macomber said he’s eager to end his agency’s control over closed prison sites.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
House of Representatives subcommittee overseeing the Census Bureau from 1987 to 1994, said the report’s minimal methodological information raised questions about the accuracy of the results.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026
Boeing later agreed to work on a design change for a potential safety issue, at the request of Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who at the time was chairwoman of the Senate’s aviation subcommittee.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
The secretariat was a subcommittee of the branch executive, which reported to the provincial secretary.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
