subcommittee
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of subcommittee
Explanation
When a big working group of people breaks down into smaller groups, those are subcommittees. In government, subcommittees help legislators focus on specific issues, like agriculture or education. The word subcommittee adds the prefix sub-, or "under," to committee — the main committee, or group, is like an umbrella that encompasses every subcommittee below it. You might be on the "wacky candid photos" subcommittee of the Yearbook Club, meaning you're focusing on finding goofy pictures of your classmates, but you're also part of the larger yearbook group. U.S. senators who are on the Appropriations Committee will also be part of a subcommittee, like Science, Labor, or Energy.
Vocabulary lists containing subcommittee
U.S. Government - Middle School and High School
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The Legislative Branch, Sections 4–6
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U.S. Government - Middle School and High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Congresswoman Young Kim, the chairwoman of the subcommittee, opened the hearing by warning Americans: "If you travel to China, Beijing may take you hostage as leverage in diplomatic negotiation."
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
“I think it’s pretty obvious what that says, right?” said Skubal, one of eight players on the union’s executive subcommittee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
Test your news knowledge: Who was brought before a Senate subcommittee this week after pages from his personal diary were released by Sen. Rand Paul?
From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026
Boeing later agreed to work on a design change for a potential safety issue, at the request of Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who at the time was chairwoman of the Senate’s aviation subcommittee.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
At a House subcommittee hearing in 1920, lawmakers combed through a report from a government inspector who had been sent to investigate the tribe’s spending habits, including those of Mollie’s family.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
