Showing definitions for ad hoc

SEE ALSO

Slang dictionary results for ad hoc

ad hoc

American  

[ad hok, ahd hohk] / æd ˈhɒk, ɑd ˈhoʊk /

adverb

1. for the special purpose or end presently under consideration.

   a committee formed ad hoc to deal with the issue.

---

adjective

1. concerned or dealing with a specific subject, purpose, or end.

   The ad hoc committee disbanded after making its final report.

ad hoc British  

/ æd ˈhɒk /

adjective

1. for a particular purpose only; lacking generality or justification

   an ad hoc decision

   an ad hoc committee

---

ad hoc Cultural  

1. A phrase describing something created especially for a particular occasion: “We need an ad hoc committee to handle this new problem immediately.” From Latin, meaning “toward this (matter).”

---

ad hoc Idioms  

1. For the special purpose or end at hand; also, by extension, improvised or impromptu. The term, Latin for “to this,” is most often used for committees established for a specific purpose, as in The committee was formed ad hoc to address health insurance problems. The term is also used as an adjective (An ad hoc committee was formed), and has given rise to the noun adhocism for the tendency to use temporary, provisional, or improvised methods to deal with a particular problem. [Early 1600s]

---

Usage

What does ad hoc mean? Something ad hoc is put together on the fly for one narrow, pressing, or special purpose. For example, a government committee arranged to address one specific problem would be an ad hoc committee. More loosely, it can mean "spontaneous," "unplanned," or "on the spot."Ad hoc is one of those Latin phrases commonly found in academic, law, and government contexts. It literally means "for this (thing)."

Etymology

Origin of ad hoc

First recorded in 1550–60; from Latin ad hōc “for this, to this”

Example Sentences

Ad hoc groups of Party members have not been able to meet the needs of troops scattered across "thousands of kilometres", the newspaper reported, citing one of the problems.

From Reuters • Sep. 15, 2023

Ad hoc tribunals, like those established for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, also require Security Council backing.

From New York Times • Jan. 25, 2022

Ad hoc and disjointed efforts to bring people inside appear to be driven by what’s on fire at a given moment.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 17, 2021

Ad hoc may be freewheeling and fun, but it often leads to defeat.

From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 3, 2016

Ad hoc ego vltra confusus et stupefactus, nequiui inuenire responsum; verebar enim obloqui veritati, quamuis ab Infidelis ore prolatæ, et vultu præ rubore demisso percunctatus sum, Domine, salua reuerentia, qualiter potestis ita plenè hoc noscere?

From The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 08 Asia, Part I by Hakluyt, Richard

Related Words

• impromptu
• provisional