Showing results for "agenda"

• plural of agendum.

agenda

American  

[uh-jen-duh] / əˈdʒɛn də /

noun

agendum, agendas, agenda

1. a list, plan, outline, or the like, of things to be done, matters to be acted or voted upon, etc..

   The chairman says we have a lengthy agenda this afternoon.

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agenda British  

/ əˈdʒɛndə /

noun

1. Also called: agendum. (functioning as singular) a schedule or list of items to be attended to

2. Also called: agendas, agendums. (functioning as plural) matters to be attended to, as at a meeting of a committee

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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

• agendaless
  adjective

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

agenda agendas agendum

Even as Trump still plays the dominant role in US foreign policy, the size of Democrats' victory means they control the agenda in Congress, said political science professor Brian Taylor of Syracuse University.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

“That’s when you’re most powerful: when you assume office with an agenda, so hopefully he’ll detail that within days of being elected.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

The previous Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had said prior to the meeting that reparations were not on the agenda, but other leaders insisted they should be.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

And he promised to advance a "comprehensive anti-corruption agenda" in the Senate.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

They were very much trying to suppress a vote to give Spares more rights and believed that was the extent of the fake Uncles’ agenda.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

In the poem “Usefulness,” which was originally published in the Yale Review, you speak of how Black Cubans exist at the nexus of two different political agendas: the pro- and anti-Revolution contingents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

"It came to power very much on a programme to bring down crime and energy prices. And crime and petrol prices have come down, so those issues no longer top voters' agendas," Teorell said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

Instead, the Tribune tracked the grants by reviewing the vehicle authority’s meeting records, as well as documents, agendas and discussions from 101 city councils and county commissions that approved or discussed Flock-related grants.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

With fiduciary responsibility, Mr. Reynolds says, “I think a lot of hidden agendas go away. Advice has to be in the client’s best interest, not motivated by a desire to run up the bill.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

Factions with varying agendas fight to rewrite the events of the past to their advantage.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

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

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

But a principal agendum of the conference is the limitation of submarines.

From Time Magazine Archive

To this perfection it is, therefore, bound, as the fundamental science, to attain, and to it the maxim may justly be applied: Nil actum reputans, si quid superesset agendum.

From The Critique of Pure Reason by John Miller Dow Meiklejohn

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

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Related Words

• calendar
• plan
• program
• schedule
• timetable

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