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
The back-to-back hearings—before a House subcommittee in the morning, before moving to a Senate panel in the afternoon—were scheduled to examine the court’s budget request.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Speaking to a congressional subcommittee on April 16 about the outbreak, Kennedy noted that companies usually comply with recalls right away.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
At an arts and parks subcommittee meeting Tuesday morning, some members of the public urged Jurado to act and introduce the ordinance for a vote, while others encouraged her to drop it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
For example, when Baker listed the total spent on carriage rental, the subcommittee demanded the names of the people who rode in the carriages.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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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.
