caucus

American  

[kaw-kuhs] / ˈkɔ kəs /

noun

caucuses plural

1. 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 Caucus a faction within a legislative body that pursues its interests through the legislative process.

      the Women's Caucus; the Black Caucus.

2. any group or meeting organized to further a special interest or cause.

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verb (used without object)

caucuses, present (3rd person singular) caucused, past participle, past caucusing present participle

1. to hold or meet in a caucus.

verb (used with object)

caucuses, present (3rd person singular) caucused, past participle, past caucusing present participle

1. to bring up or hold for discussion in a caucus.

   The subject was caucused.

2. 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.

caucus British  

/ ˈkɔːkəs /

noun

1. 1. a closed meeting of the members of one party in a legislative chamber, etc, to coordinate policy, choose candidates, etc

   2. such a bloc of politicians

      the Democratic caucus in Congress

2. 1. a group of leading politicians of one party

   2. a meeting of such a group

3. a local meeting of party members

4. a group or faction within a larger group, esp a political party, who discuss tactics, choose candidates, etc

5. a group of MPs from one party who meet to discuss tactics, etc

6. a formal meeting of all Members of Parliament belonging to one political party

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verb

1. (intr) to hold a caucus

caucus Cultural  

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• caucuses
  plural

Participles

• caucusing
  present
• caucused
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• caucus
  simple
• caucuses
  simple
• have caucused
  perfect
• has caucused
  perfect
• am caucusing
  progressive
• are caucusing
  progressive
• is caucusing
  progressive
• have been caucusing
  perfect progressive
• has been caucusing
  perfect progressive

Past

• caucused
  simple
• had caucused
  perfect
• was caucusing
  progressive
• were caucusing
  progressive
• had been caucusing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will caucus
  simple
• will have caucused
  perfect
• will be caucusing
  progressive
• will have been caucusing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of caucus

An Americanism dating back to 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; perhaps from Virginia Algonquian Cawcawwassough “elders of the Chickahominy people”

Explanation

The noun caucus is a closed meeting of members from the same political party. The Iowa caucuses get a lot of attention during the presidential primary season. Who knows how we got the noun caucus? One theory is that it comes from an Algonquin word that means an elder or leader of the tribe. Another theory is that the word comes from a social and political club in Boston in the 1700s that was perhaps named for the Greek word for drinking cup. However the word slipped into American English, today it refers to a closed political meeting, often used to choose party leaders.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

caucus caucuses caucused caucusing

In our study, leadership included the speaker, party leaders, whips, caucus or conference chairs, and committee chairs or ranking members.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

"Anyone with a large family knows. Everything works out in the end," said Carlos Portinho, leader of the PL caucus in the Senate.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

Neel Sannappa, chair of the California Democratic Party’s progressive caucus, said Raman was stymied by getting into the race late and having only a few months to campaign.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney cemented his hold on power after electoral victories Monday night and defections to his Liberal Party caucus over the past six months.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

Martha, who had been carefully coached in private caucus, arose.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

The Vermont senator, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, had been one of Platner’s biggest supporters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

There’s a saying in Iowa, around its presidential caucuses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026

They were joined by Maine's Angus King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, who also voted to reopen the government.

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2025

And Sen. Angus King, who caucuses with the Democrats, actually voted to confirm Divine because Sen. Josh Hawley gave him a “strong reference.”

From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2025

Several days later, a Thursday, the caucuses arrived.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

And though he drew crowds, many in his audience had never caucused, and his campaign lacked a robust operation to target, educate or motivate them.

From New York Times ● Jan. 1, 2024

Jones, who works part-time at a hospital, said she has never caucused before.

From Reuters ● Oct. 27, 2023

Mary Kinney, a Republican from Des Moines who caucused for Trump in 2016, was also critical of the charges.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 15, 2023

The price point for a deal remains around $50 million a season, according to those I have caucused, and Jackson almost certainly will seek record guarantees.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 23, 2022

We caucused among ourselves and lobbied all the residents of the house, and within weeks elected our own House Committee, defeating the upperclassmen.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

“Trump stood up for the people,” said Brett Potthoff, 30, an engineer from Sac City, Iowa, who considered caucusing for Mr. DeSantis but ultimately said he would support Mr. Trump.

From New York Times ● Jan. 21, 2024

Monday, when people will be lining up to check-in before caucusing starts at 7 p.m., temperatures are expected to be minus 1 to minus 5 degrees, depending on what part of the state you're in.

From Salon ● Jan. 11, 2024

Former delegate Lacey Putney, a Bedford Democrat turned independent who ended his career caucusing with Republicans, still holds the record as the state’s longest-serving legislator, serving 52 years, from 1962 to 2014.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 23, 2023

Ryan Clancy and Darrin Madison plan to hold their own meetings to advance their policy goals while also caucusing with Assembly Democrats.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 8, 2023

How he became the great political machinist of his day, and how, by his zeal, ability, and method, he elevated "caucusing" or party "wire pulling" into a recognised system—I had almost said a political science.

From A Tale of One City: the New Birmingham Papers Reprinted from the "Midland Counties Herald" by Anderton, Thomas

Related Words

• convention
• gathering
• meeting
• session