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 paneling, present participle panelling present participle

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

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

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

“The trial court abused its discretion by considering incompetent evidence in support of the temporary injunction,” the three-judge panel wrote.

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026

The three-judge panel sharply questioned the Justice Department’s legal claims, saying little had changed since the government last petitioned the court to have the agreement dissolved in 2020 — a request that was rejected.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

In 2022, an independent panel said Ramaphosa might have a case to answer after burglars stole huge sums of cash, hidden in a sofa, from his private farm.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

The panel recommendations are not binding, but the Food and Drug Administration historically has given them significant weight.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

She tucked the coconut pearl into her pocket and pulled down the satellite dish and solar panel.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

Gathered around a rectangular table, he announced his plan: five panels of outside experts would spend the next few months examining how the Fed reads the economy and explains itself.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

It has a major presence at Comic-Con, both with panels devoted to the series and the many fans who roam the halls dressed as their favorite characters.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

The upgrade includes tarted up air-inlet shrouds on the side and louvered panels in the front wings, notionally to help evacuate air pressure at high speed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

Bristol Airport has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2030 by switching to electric vehicles, and powering the site with solar panels and 22 new industrial scale heat pumps.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

At 3:36, the lights on the control panels in the unit 1 and 2 control room began to flicker.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

The replica included a podium on one side with wood paneled furniture flanked by gold curtains to display where lawmakers would traditionally sit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

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

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

He tugs me by the elbow, steers me through a paneled door.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

Some questioned how realistic it was to build such tall pillars from which a glass panelled canvas drapes over the new stands and surrounding grounds.

From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2025

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 the mid-70s David Bowie sat in the same wood panelled room of Berlin’s Meistersaal, recording Low and Heroes.

From The Guardian ● May 11, 2019

It was a business suite, small but luxurious, with dark wood- panelled walls, thick patterned carpet and a mahogany desk.

From The Verge ● Jun. 17, 2018

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

From the outside, the home features white paneling, lush greenery, and a striking red door, complete with an American flag hanging in front of the garage.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 18, 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

She learned a lot about high-precision concrete, including the chemistry, equipment, mixing process and molding required to make urban benches, lighting and facade paneling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025

I recognized the simulated wood-grain paneling, the burnt orange carpet, and garish furniture that looked like it had been scavenged from several disco-era yard sales.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

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

More premium design options including fitted booth seating and "reeded timber panelling" were also chosen despite the project increasing in cost.

From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026

He said it left plasterwork and wood panelling in the newbuild home badly damaged.

From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2023

Mr MacKellor added: "We weren't expecting to find much, but we did find quite a lot of stone flagged floors, timber dado panelling and working window shutters."

From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2021

But the furniture in the solar was not like that The devil's heads were there and the linen-fold panelling, but the wood was six or seven or eight centuries younger.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Related Words

• board
• bureau
• cabinet
• commission
• forum
• group
• jury
• task force
• tribunal