committee

American  

[kuh-mit-ee] / kəˈmɪt i /

noun

• committees
  plural

1. 

   a person or group of persons elected or appointed to perform some service or function, as to investigate, report on, or act upon a particular matter.

2. standing committee.

3. Law. an individual to whom the care of a person or a person's estate is committed.

---

committee British  

noun

1. a group of people chosen or appointed to perform a specified service or function

2. (formerly) a person to whom the care of a mentally incompetent person or his property was entrusted by a court See also receiver

---

Grammar

See collective noun.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• committeeism
  noun
• committeeship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• committees
  plural

Etymology

Origin of committee

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Anglo-French; see commit, -ee

Explanation

A committee is a group of people who come together to work on a project. Members of a committee commit their efforts to accomplishing a particular task, which can be anything from throwing a party to ending a war. You could join the Committee to Protect Groundhogs, Bumblebees and Chickadees (yes, there really is one), or you might aspire to a committee that debates questions of national importance. Committees are often subgroups of larger bodies, and the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Agriculture, which focuses on issues in the farming and poultry industries, is a good example. Committee members become experts on issues in agriculture and the group can then make informed decisions efficiently.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

committee committees

The competition's organising committee have already started planning next year's event which will be its 760th.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

The election committee has so far ordered the removal of only a handful of AI videos that violate its rules.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Soon after the Senate committee vote was scrapped, Armstrong was on TV, accusing banks of giving away consumer deposits without their consent—a reference to their long-established lending practices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Or perhaps, as suggested by the circles beneath his eyes, he was lacking the energy to keep up with the committee members.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

“The school holds fund-raising dances twice a year. I’m on the Fall Ball committee, so I have all the inside scoop! Tickets will go on sale in a month.”

From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence

Section 6 writes the procedure for discontinuing the next circulating coin: 60 days’ notice to the banking committees, a phaseout plan, a briefing.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Democrats in both the House and the Senate on Tuesday discussed establishing select committees on artificial intelligence.

From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2026

Two regional committees responsible for recognising occupational diseases had previously concluded that no link had been established.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

The league's executive and disciplinary committees are now reviewing the cases and fixtures could be suspended for some teams and clubs as a result.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Repairs, except what you could do for yourself, had to be sanctioned by remote committees which were liable to hold up even the mending of a window pane for two years.

From "1984" by George Orwell

Related Words

• board
• bureau
• cabinet
• chamber
• commission
• jury
• panel
• task force