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

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

You spoke on a “Lanterns” panel at San Diego Comic-Con?

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

Melanie T. Partow, an attorney who has represented Mohammed at Guantanamo Bay, was listed as a speaker on a Friday morning panel titled, “Torture, Rendition, and Detention: The Erosion of the Rights Regime Post-9/11.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

Selected by a special panel of filmmakers and critics, the films on this list span over 100 years of cinema and include comedies, horror flicks, dramas, documentaries, and beyond.

From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026

This would be subject to certain safeguards, including requiring the approval of two doctors and an expert panel.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

Finally a judicial panel ordered the schools open again.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Six years later, he unveiled a lightweight “Soybean Car,” built from 14 soy-derived plastic panels attached to a tubular steel frame.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

The suit says Altus, owned by private-equity firm TPG, leased the building’s roof from Lineage to own and operate a solar-panel array, and that Altus hired Pearce to conduct maintenance on the panels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

An uptick in people installing rooftop solar panels has provided an additional power boost, Ackemann said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

"The government can form as many panels as it likes. We need a system strong enough to prevent paper leaks from happening again."

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

As in the Pantheon, the domed roof was a waffle pattern of recessed square panels, but here each panel was a stela—a grave marker with Ancient Greek inscriptions.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

The eatery features Midcentury Modern touches with curved cherry wood walls and paneled ceilings, as well as illuminated white onyx Corian surfaces.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

When he wasn’t taking on Nazis, Indy lectured in the sort of dusty, paneled classroom I learned Latin in.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

There’s also a two-story, paneled library; extra rooms on the lower level for play and recreation; a home gym; and an indoor pool.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 25, 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

There’s no red velvet or chandeliers; instead, it’s a magnificently simple place, the walls and ceiling paneled in light wood, to showcase the performance and the performer.

From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson

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

It includes a panelled corridor, rare historic glazed advertising, a stone fireplace and a hatch through which drinks are fetched.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2022

One of the most distinctive features of the handsome Prince Alfred pub in Maida Vale is the panelled dividers which you have to duck under to move from bar to bar.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 23, 2019

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

Mami and Papi’s bed was against the panelled wall, a curtain separating it from our side of the room.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

Large solar developments can transform hundreds, or even thousands, of acres of rural land, paneling them with crystalline silicon and tempered glass.

From Salon ● Apr. 27, 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

One of Mr. Joseph’s interviewees remembers Sondheim pinning an oatmeal-raisin cookie to a speckled piece of pine paneling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

A piece of decorative wood paneling was peeling off and hanging at an odd angle.

From "Raymie Nightingale" by Kate DiCamillo

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

He can see its merits, explaining that white can work particularly well as a backdrop for architectural details like panelling and arched doorways which is a "growing trend in modern homes".

From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2025

Those fragments that do impact the planet might include internal panelling and some metal parts, such as fuel and pressure tanks.

From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2024

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

From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2023

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