panel

American  

[pan-l] / ˈpæn l /

noun

• panels
  plural

1. a distinct portion, section, or division of a wall, wainscot, ceiling, door, shutter, fence, etc., especially of any surface sunk below or raised above the general level or enclosed by a frame or border.

2. a comparatively thin, flat piece of wood or the like, as a large piece of plywood.

3. a group of persons gathered to conduct a public discussion, judge a contest, serve as advisers, be players on a radio or television game, or the like.

   a panel of political scientists meeting to discuss foreign policy.

4. a public discussion by such a group.

5. Law.

   1. a list of persons summoned for service as jurors.

   2. the body of persons composing a jury.

   3. (in Scotland) the person or persons arraigned for trial.

6. a mount for or a surface or section of a machine containing the controls and dials.

7. Electricity. a switchboard or control board, or a division of a switchboard or control board containing a set of related cords, jacks, relays, etc.

8. a broad strip of material set vertically in or on a dress, skirt, etc.

9. Painting.

   1. a flat piece of wood of varying kinds on which a picture is painted.

   2. a picture painted on such a piece of wood.

10. (in Britain) a list of approved or cooperating doctors available to patients under a health insurance program.

11. Aeronautics. a lateral subdivision of an airfoil with internal girder construction.

12. Engineering, Building Trades.

    1. the space on the chord of a truss between any two adjacent joints made by principal web members with the chord.

    2. the space within the web of a truss between any two such joints and a corresponding pair of joints or a single joint on an opposite chord.

13. the section between the two bands on the spine of a bound book.

14. Mining. an area of a coal seam separated for mining purposes from adjacent areas by extra thick masses or ribs of coal.

15. a pad placed under a saddle.

16. a pad, cloth, or the like, serving as a saddle.

17. a pane, as in a window.

18. a slip of parchment.

19. a photograph much longer in one dimension than the other.

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verb (used with object)

• panels,
  present (3rd person singular)
• paneled,
  past participle,  past
• panelled,
  past participle,  past (especially British)
• paneling,
  present participle
• panelling
  present participle (especially British)

1. to arrange in or furnish with a panel or panels.

2. to ornament with a panel or panels.

3. to set in a frame as a panel.

4. to select (a jury).

5. Scots Law. to bring to trial.

panel British  

/ ˈpænəl /

noun

1. a flat section of a wall, door, etc

2. any distinct section or component of something formed from a sheet of material, esp of a car body, the spine of a book, etc

3. a piece of material inserted in a skirt, dress, etc

4. 1. a group of persons selected to act as a team in a quiz, to judge a contest, to discuss a topic before an audience, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a panel game

5. a public discussion by such a group

   a panel on public health

6. law

   1. a list of persons summoned for jury service

   2. the persons on a specific jury

7. Scots law a person indicted or accused of crime after appearing in court

8. 1. a thin board used as a surface or backing for an oil painting

   2. a painting done on such a surface

9. any picture with a length much greater than its breadth

10. See instrument panel

11. 1. a list of patients insured under the National Health Insurance Scheme

    2. a list of medical practitioners within a given area available for consultation by these patients

12. informal receiving sickness benefit, esp from the government

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verb

1. to furnish or decorate with panels

2. to divide into panels

3. law

   1. to empanel (a jury)

   2. (in Scotland) to bring (a person) to trial; indict

Grammar

See collective noun.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subpanel
  noun
• repanel
  verb (used with object)
• unpaneled
  adjective
• unpanelled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• panels
  plural

Participles

• paneling
  present
• panelling
  present
• paneled
  past
• panelled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• panel
  simple
• panels
  simple
• have paneled
  perfect
• have panelled
  perfect
• has paneled
  perfect
• has panelled
  perfect
• am paneling
  progressive
• am panelling
  progressive
• are paneling
  progressive
• are panelling
  progressive
• is paneling
  progressive
• is panelling
  progressive
• have been paneling
  perfect progressive
• have been panelling
  perfect progressive
• has been paneling
  perfect progressive
• has been panelling
  perfect progressive

Past

• paneled
  simple
• panelled
  simple
• had paneled
  perfect
• had panelled
  perfect
• was paneling
  progressive
• was panelling
  progressive
• were paneling
  progressive
• were panelling
  progressive
• had been paneling
  perfect progressive
• had been panelling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will panel
  simple
• will have paneled
  perfect
• will have panelled
  perfect
• will be paneling
  progressive
• will be panelling
  progressive
• will have been paneling
  perfect progressive
• will have been panelling
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of panel

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French panel “a piece (of anything),” diminutive of pan “piece of cloth or the like”; see pane, -elle

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Explanation

If you are participating in some kind of contest, it is not ethical to bribe the judges on the panel with brownies. On the other hand, don’t stick your tongue out at them either, since they’ll be determining the winner. Panel is derived from Old French and originally meant “a piece of cloth.” It’s still used as a sewing term, but now it has additional meanings. It can mean “jury,” as above, and can also refer to a flat piece of a hard surface, often rectangular, such as the wood panel of a door or wall. Panel is also a verb meaning "to install panels." Finally, a control panel has a lot of switches and is a way to make some machines work.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

panel panels paneled panelled paneling panelling

Circuit Court of Appeals, but in April 2025, a divided three-judge panel affirmed the dismissal, agreeing with the district court that Salazar’s newsletter subscription didn’t make him a subscriber under the law.

From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026

The online session will bring together a number of professionals and personal perspectives on menopause, and will be an open conversation format rather than a traditional webinar or expert panel.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

And as an external panel appointed by Warsh begins considering the best path forward, at least one area is ripe for change — the way the Fed communicates about the economic outlook.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

Other events include a USC panel celebrating makeup and special effects artists that took place Tuesday and, still to come, a ’70s themed game night at members club SoHo Warehouse on Oct.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

I’d sat in on enough of these tests to know that protocol dictated that we sit and watch our recap in front of the panel.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

With its rooftop science garden, solar panels and floor-to-ceiling windows, it's an impressive sight.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Better-performing materials could improve the efficiency of batteries, solar panels and other equipment, reducing the cost of low-carbon technology.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Chinese companies that need to service this enormous debt are churning out more cars, solar panels and electronics than consumers at home want.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

Since the tiles sit close to the roof, there's less airflow than with standard solar panels mounted on a roof.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

She peered through a crack between two curtain panels.

From "The Cinderella Ballet Mystery: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #4" by Carolyn Keene

It added: “Awe-inspiring features abound, including eight spacious en-suite bedrooms with beautifully appointed baths, a guest house complete with a kitchenette, and an intricately paneled study featuring a warm fireplace.”

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 18, 2026

The host greets Heller by name when he steps off the elevator into the series of rooms paneled with gonçalo alves wood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 2026

One room contains four giant paneled canvases measuring more than 10-by-7 feet, with Murakami’s interpretations of work by the ukiyo-e masters Kitagawa Utamaro and Torii Kiyonaga.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026

There was paneled wood around the whole room, which had the exact same vibe as the last courtroom I’d been in—the vibe of ‘this is not a place you want to end up.’

From Slate ● May 12, 2024

They are wonderfully built homes, aluminum skins, doublewalled, with insulation, and often paneled with veneer of hardwood.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

In the five-minute hearing, Ms McEvoy, who appeared in a glass- panelled dock flanked by two security officers, was told by district Judge Peter Veits: "These are very serious allegations you are facing."

From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2022

As the clock ticked past midday, I waited in the first minister's walnut panelled office for Nicola Sturgeon to give her first interview on the scandal.

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2021

In Herman and Lizzie’s bedroom, on either side of the bedstead, there are two panelled doors, which lead to three tiny rooms.

From The New Yorker ● Jul. 22, 2019

As she completes this story, Feilding leads me into the main house itself, with its panelled walls and huge stone fireplaces and Ottoman rugs and tapestries.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 10, 2019

If this had been an old house, with creaking wood, and dark shadows, and heavily panelled walls, there might have been an eerie feeling.

From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie

High Park Farm also looms large in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Exhibit, with a whole section configured to look like the inside of their farmhouse: wood paneling, quaint lighting, faux windows.

From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026

Inside, the house had “wall-to-wall carpets on both floors that were heavily stained and worn, dated wood paneling on the walls, holes in the walls,” Fahmy says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026

From the outside, the home is as charming as can be as it boasts a stone pathway and olive green paneling.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 9, 2026

"Over time, it grew. We've seen really strong growth through the years," Ara Khanikian, who supervises visual effects at Rodeo FX, told AFP at the studio's current home, a modern office with elegant wood paneling.

From Barron's ● Jan. 31, 2026

But the older woman did not have that old standoffish expression, did not speak stiffly with her eyes focused somewhere between Olanna’s face and the hand-carved paneling.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A pool journalist allowed to tour the inside of the plane reported that it features leather seats, plush carpets, wooden panelling and walls colored tan and light brown with shades of gold.

From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026

The Visitors' Gallery mirrors the chamber, with its wood panelling and green benches, although a glass security screen separates spectators from participants.

From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025

The council said it also discovered that historic features such as panelling and fireplaces had been removed.

From BBC ● May 14, 2025

However, Mr Nejrup said noise-limiting measures taken at the premises had included moving the outdoor smoking area and the use of acoustic panelling in the downstairs club area.

From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2025

The wall dividing our side of the house from the bar was made from shiny sheets of fake wood panelling, but the rest of the walls were rough, splintery boards painted pale green.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

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Related Words

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