trustee
Americannoun
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trustees
plural
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a person, usually one of a body of persons, appointed to administer the affairs of a company, institution, etc.
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a person who holds the title to property for the benefit of another.
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(in New England) a garnishee.
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a trusty.
verb (used with object)
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to place in the hands of a trustee or trustees.
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(in New England) to garnish.
noun
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a person to whom the legal title to property is entrusted to hold or use for another's benefit
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a member of a board that manages the affairs and administers the funds of an institution or organization
Usage
What does trustee mean? A trustee is a person who is appointed to administer the affairs of a company or other organization. Often such an organization will have a group, or a board, of trustees. A trustee can also be a person who holds the title to a property for someone else. If you inherit millions of dollars before you reach adulthood, the will might state that an adult manages that money for you until you become an adult. That person would be the trustee of your money. Example: The board of trustees advised us against running this ad during primetime.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of trustee
Explanation
A trustee is someone who is responsible for another person's money or property. Trustees sometimes oversee investment accounts or make sure a property is being taken care of. Trustee is a legal term that's often used when people write wills or set up trusts—funds that are set aside for specific recipients, usually called beneficiaries. There's also the kind of trustee who serves on a board of trustees, a group of people responsible for overseeing a charity or business, setting up policies and goals, and approving budgets. In either case, people have put their trust in the trustee.
Vocabulary lists containing trustee
The Inheritance Games
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The Legislative Branch, Sections 1–3
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Legal Lingo, List 3
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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.
See Examples For:
For families with complex estates, consolidating accounts and assets under one trustee can help everything run more smoothly.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
David Panzirer, a trustee of the Helmsley Charitable Trust, resigned in protest as a board observer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Model Naomi Campbell has won her appeal against a ban on being a charity trustee, after a tribunal ruled that she was unaware of misconduct at her charity Fashion for Relief.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
As a realtor, she said she handles contracts, budgets, negotiations, legal requirements and competing interests — helpful skills in a trustee role.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Maggie had taken a job in Philadelphia as medium-in-residence at the “Spiritual Mansion” of Henry Seybert, a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
The vote of five siblings to sell the shares triggered the termination clause in the trust, and the filing argues that the trust doesn’t grant trustees discretion to disregard a valid vote to terminate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
"It is imperative that Cornell be willing to examine itself with the same rigor we expect of others," Anne Meinig Smalling, chair of the university's board of trustees, said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
The charity has already reduced staffing costs, but trustees said it would close permanently unless it raised £25,000 by the end of October.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Tuesday night, Cornell’s president, provost and chair of the board of trustees wrote a letter to the Cornell community addressing the uproar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
“The board of trustees will hear about this,” said Mom.
From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio
It marked a stark change from April 2016, when the university’s board of trusteed voted to keep the former president’s name on campus buildings and programs.
From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2020
In February, 1918, all but 23 shares were obtained, trusteed and a "plan of mutualization" was practically accomplished.
From Time Magazine Archive
The National Association of Manufacturers notes that scandals have centered in labor and jointly controlled welfare funds, insists that trusteed company pension plans should be left alone.
From Time Magazine Archive
All the trusteed stock was voted in a block in favor of the plan, Trustee Thornley being unable to swing the other three trustees to his side.
From Time Magazine Archive
The estate belongs not to him, is trusteed to his son John.
From Time Magazine Archive
She informed the executors that she wished to make over half her property to the old man, trusteeing it so that it should descend to his nephew.
From Overland by J. W. (John William) De Forest
I know that I registered a vow that I would never again be trustee of anything without trusteeing it in fact.
From The Making of an American by Jacob A. (Jacob August) Riis
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
