select committee
noun
a committee, as of a legislative body, that is formed to examine and report on a specific bill or issue.
RELATED CONTENT
Why Bluster Is Dictionary’s 2012 Word Of The YearYou may recall that last year we selected a rare word, a tongue-twister of sorts, as the 2011 Word of the Year: tergiversate which means “to change repeatedly one’s attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate.” Rather than pick a word that rose to prominence through common usage during the year (like Occupy or Arab Spring), we selected a word hidden …
Nearby words
selden, selden, john, seldom, seldomly, select, select committee, selecta, selectance, selectee, selection, selection rule
Origin of select committee
An Americanism dating back to 1780–90
Also called special committee.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for select committee
select committee
noun
(in Britain) a small committee composed of members of parliament, set up by either House of Parliament to investigate and report back on a specified matter of interest
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012