panelist

American  

[pan-l-ist] / ˈpæn l ɪst /

noun

1. a member of a small group of persons gathered for formal public discussion, judging, playing a radio or television game, etc.

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Etymology

Origin of panelist

First recorded in 1950–55; panel + -ist

Explanation

If you're a member of a group that's officially (sometimes publicly) discussing a specific subject, you're a panelist. Most panelists are either experts in the subject being discussed, or people whose lives are affected by related issues, developments, or changes. A group of panelists is called a panel, which comes from the Old French, in which it means "piece of cloth," and an Anglo-French legal meaning, "piece of parchment listing jurors." Panelist is an American English invention from about 1950.

Example Sentences

But as one panelist says—during a clip in which podcasting bro Andrew Schulz is trying to catalog the nationalities of the players in a Team USA photo—“They’re American, dude.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026

She is also a regular panelist on CNN’s roundtable program “NewsNight with Abby Phillip,” which extends its reach far beyond its modest ratings through frequent viral clips on social media.

From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2026

Another panelist, Paul N. Watkins, was a legal fellow at Consumers’ Research.

From Salon • Apr. 10, 2026

If you’re nervous, 2026 is a year to plan, said panelist Chris Farrell, senior economics contributor at American Public Media’s Marketplace radio program and author of ”Unretirement.”

From MarketWatch • Feb. 25, 2026

Years earlier, as a child panelist on “It’s a Wise Child,” he had been advised repeatedly to keep his distance from the microphone.

From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger