Showing results for "ad hoc"

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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.

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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

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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).”

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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]

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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

See Examples For:

ad hoc

“The key question remains whether management can protect cash generation while gradually improving underlying profitability. On both metrics, the ad hoc was arguably more reassuring than the headline numbers suggests.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

AI is enabling a more ad hoc structure based on workflows.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

Some have been driving pipes into the earth, making ad hoc irrigation systems to combat subterranean fires.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

An ad hoc committee focused on reform spent several months discussing the issue, only to forward it to the 13-member Charter Reform Commission.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

The ad hoc village that would serve as our home for the next six weeks sat at the head of a natural amphitheater delineated by forbidding mountain walls.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• impromptu
• provisional