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caucus

[ kaw-kuhs ]
/ ˈkɔ kəs /
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noun, plural cau·cus·es.

U.S. Politics.
  1. a local meeting of party members to select candidates, elect convention delegates, etc.
  2. a meeting of party members within a legislative body to select leaders and determine strategy.
  3. (often initial capital letter) a faction within a legislative body that pursues its interests through the legislative process: the Women's Caucus; the Black Caucus.
any group or meeting organized to further a special interest or cause.

verb (used without object)

to hold or meet in a caucus.

verb (used with object)

to bring up or hold for discussion in a caucus: The subject was caucused.
to bring together or poll in a caucus: The paper caucused its new editorial board on Friday.The chairman caucused the water pollution committee before making recommendations.

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Origin of caucus

An Americanism first recorded in 1755–65, apparently first used in the name of the Caucus Club of colonial Boston; further origin uncertain; perhaps from Medieval Latin caucus “drinking vessel,” Late Latin caucum, from Greek kaûkos; or perhaps from Virginia Algonquian Cawcawwassough “elders of the Chickahominy people”

Words nearby caucus

Cauchy integral theorem, Cauchy-Riemann equations, Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, Cauchy sequence, Cauchy's inequality, caucus, cauda, caudad, cauda equina, caudaite, caudal
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Content related to caucus

What’s The Difference Between “Caucus” vs. “Primary”?Democracy is messy business. Just look at the election process! Before an election, there's the primary. Or is it a caucus? What exactly is the difference between the two? And why do some states have one but not the other?
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Words related to caucus

gathering, session, meeting, convention, assembly, conclave, council, parley, get-together

How to use caucus in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for caucus

caucus
/ (ˈkɔːkəs) /

noun plural -cuses

verb

(intr) to hold a caucus

Word Origin for caucus

C18: probably of Algonquian origin; related to caucauasu adviser
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for caucus

caucus
[ (kaw-kuhs) ]

A meeting of members of a political party to nominate candidates, choose convention delegates, plan campaign tactics, determine party policy, or select leaders for a legislature.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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