Security Council

American  

noun

1. the division of the United Nations charged with maintaining international peace, composed of five permanent members (U.S., Russian Federation, France, United Kingdom, and the People's Republic of China) and ten temporary members, each serving for two years.

---

Security Council British  

noun

1. a permanent organ of the United Nations established to maintain world peace. It consists of five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US) and ten nonpermanent members

---

Security Council Cultural  

1. An important division of the United Nations that contains five permanent members — the United States, Britain, China, France, and Russia — and ten rotating members. It is often called into session to respond quickly to international crises. Any permanent member can exercise a veto over a resolution before the Security Council.

---

Example Sentences

There are five permanent members of the UN Security Council – China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US – and 10 temporary ones.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026

Security Council, where most nations get rotating seats but no veto.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in November 2025 endorsing the US-backed peace plan, which called for the full resumption of humanitarian aid.

From Barron's • May 21, 2026

Usually, the National Security Council holds interagency meetings—first among midlevel experts, then with Cabinet secretaries and the president himself—to hammer out positions on various major issues.

From Slate • May 16, 2026

Given time, legions of men are drawn into the game, both ebony and ivory: the Congo’s CIA station chief, the National Security Council, even the President of the United States.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver