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

“That momentum, and the advances we are making on our innovation agenda, give us real confidence heading into 2027 and beyond,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

The initial burst also illustrates how a relatively small number of high-profile accounts can set the agenda for a much larger audience.

From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026

But deep down, Iraola will know there is a lot of work to do and getting the big money signings to deliver will be high on his agenda.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

That would, in theory at least, set a firm and realistic agenda, cutting the endless hours of gruelling negotiations that often dominate COP meetings before votes are taken on individual technical points.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

But in the time since the book has come out, as I’ve talked to readers and revisited some of my ideas, I’ve come to believe that there is a social agenda in Blink as well.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

My opinion is very useful to many agendas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

Mr. Lillard, on the money, plays an administrator infuriated by the warped behavior of his most popular students, but who has to face parents with chips on their shoulders and self-serving agendas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

The bizarre geography lesson appeared in student agendas distributed at Farnsley Middle School, part of Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

The two candidates for California governor came to Sacramento offering policy agendas that were both sweeping and vague.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 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

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

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

Others are finer still Caesar's energy is rivalled by the line— "Nil actum credens dum quid superesset agendum."

From The History of Roman Literature From the earliest period to the death of Marcus Aurelius by Charles Thomas Cruttwell

The Accusative of the Gerund is used only with Prepositions, chiefly ad and in to denote purpose; as,— homō ad agendum nātus est, man is born for action.

From New Latin Grammar by Charles E. (Charles Edwin) Bennett

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Related Words

• calendar
• plan
• program
• schedule
• timetable

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