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.

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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

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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 committee concluded that the volrustomig combination was unlikely to reach either of the primary endpoints for the drug in the eVolve-Lung02 trial.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

So plan a search party, do it by committee.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The committee heard that officials had been working with the farmer after "numerous" inspections, beginning in 2022.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

They propose instead to form a study committee of some sort to tell them what to do.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

It’s filled with Agents and Junior Agents, with Director Van Helsing and the rest of the grading committee getting the last row to themselves.

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

Since 2002, organizing committees have been required to put together joint bids to host both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, using the same venues, facilities and infrastructure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

More recently, in February 2025, Rep. Sylvia Garcia introduced the act before two House committees, the Judiciary Committee and the Education and Workforce Committee.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026

Interim charges are lists of issues that the lieutenant governor and speaker give to their respective chamber’s committees to study during the period between legislative sessions.

From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026

A member from this diversity committee sits on each of the other committees that sift through names that have been put forward.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

In the Continental Congress, John Adams had described him as a staunch advocate of independence who never uttered more than two or three sentences, even in committees.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

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