agenda
Americannoun
noun
-
Also called: agendum. (functioning as singular) a schedule or list of items to be attended to
-
Also called: agendas, agendums. (functioning as plural) matters to be attended to, as at a meeting of a committee
Usage
Agenda, “things to be done,” is the plural of the Latin gerund agendum and is used today in the sense “a plan or list of matters to be acted upon.” In that sense it is treated as a singular noun; its plural is usually agendas: The agenda is ready for distribution. The agendas of last year's meetings are printed in the official minutes. The singular agendum, meaning “an item on an agenda,” is rare.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of agenda
First recorded in 1745–55; from Latin, plural of agendum “that which is to be done,” gerund of agere “to do, drive”; the plural originally carried a collective sense denoting the various items to be transacted
Explanation
An agenda is a list of things to do. If you're going to attend a meeting with a long agenda, you'll want to take your coffee mug along. The word agenda is the plural for of the Latin word agendum, which literally means "something to be done." The noun retains this meaning because an agenda is a plan — organized by time — of events or things to do. You might have a meeting, a lunch date, and a doctor's appointment on your agenda for the day. And when you run for office, you better have a political agenda — or a plan for what you want to get done if elected.
Vocabulary lists containing agenda
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968)
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
President Trump's Second State of the Union Address (2019)
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Legend
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
“Voters probably are somewhere in the middle,” Grose said, “and there doesn’t seem to be a policy agenda that reaches those voters.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
In the late 1700s, when printed fashion plates came into use, fashion dolls did become toys, but with an agenda.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
One of the easier issues on the agenda was meant to be the approval of scientific reports into the state of nature.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
Paturi: Concentrated access to powerful research tools raises serious questions about who can participate, who gets early access and who shapes the research agenda.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
"Even though it wasn't on the official agenda? And the princess will probably be upset?"
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
I’ve suggested we two hold weekly or bimonthly meetings—informal yet complete with agendas to better establish our priorities—to introduce structure, rhythm and ritual to our partnership.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
My opinion is very useful to many agendas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
The agendas also contained a distorted periodic table, unreadable phases of the moon and other garbled educational material that parents suspect may have been created using artificial intelligence.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
By escaping that category, climate change is making it harder to rein in inflation, even if it doesn’t appear on the agendas of economic conferences dominated by faster-moving risks like AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Civil rights advocates pursued their own agendas as unelected representatives of communities defined by race and displayed considerable skill navigating courtrooms and halls of power across America.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Principal agendum of the pages standing at the rostrum steps was to lift the train of each ascending delegate with combined dexterity, good timing and discretion.
From Time Magazine Archive
But a principal agendum of the conference is the limitation of submarines.
From Time Magazine Archive
The next most important agendum was the division of reparations so far received, a matter complicated by profits derived from the Ruhr occupation, seizures made, deliveries in kind received, etc.
From Time Magazine Archive
Locus ad agendum amplissimus: A place very honourable to plead in.
From The Comic Latin Grammar A new and facetious introduction to the Latin tongue by John Leech
The first is, that in his enterprises and engagements he would have thought nothing done, till all had been done that was possible:- Nil actum reputans, si quid superesset agendum.
From Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit and Some Miscellaneous Pieces by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
