trustee

American  

[truh-stee] / trʌˈsti /

noun

1. a person, usually one of a body of persons, appointed to administer the affairs of a company, institution, etc.

2. a person who holds the title to property for the benefit of another.

3. (in New England) a garnishee.

4. a trusty.

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verb (used with object)

trusteed, trusteeing

1. to place in the hands of a trustee or trustees.

2. (in New England) to garnish.

trustee British  

/ trʌˈstiː /

noun

1. a person to whom the legal title to property is entrusted to hold or use for another's benefit

2. a member of a board that manages the affairs and administers the funds of an institution or organization

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Usage

What does trustee mean? A trustee is a person who is appointed to administer the affairs of a company or other organization. Often such an organization will have a group, or a board, of trustees. A trustee can also be a person who holds the title to a property for someone else. If you inherit millions of dollars before you reach adulthood, the will might state that an adult manages that money for you until you become an adult. That person would be the trustee of your money. Example: The board of trustees advised us against running this ad during primetime.

Etymology

Origin of trustee

First recorded in 1640–50; trust + -ee

Explanation

A trustee is someone who is responsible for another person's money or property. Trustees sometimes oversee investment accounts or make sure a property is being taken care of. Trustee is a legal term that's often used when people write wills or set up trusts—funds that are set aside for specific recipients, usually called beneficiaries. There's also the kind of trustee who serves on a board of trustees, a group of people responsible for overseeing a charity or business, setting up policies and goals, and approving budgets. In either case, people have put their trust in the trustee.

Example Sentences

Trustee Asiza Tate said parents cannot afford "essentials like formula and nappies, as their salaries are just not stretching to everything".

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

Trustee, a civil division overseeing the nation’s bankruptcy courts, to “object to any sale to these insiders if it would compromise the integrity of the bankruptcy system.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

The Department of Justice’s Office of the Trustee is also good at pursuing and “setting aside” any fraudulent transfer to avoid payment, he continued.

From Salon • Dec. 21, 2023

Trustee Program, an arm of the Justice Department that oversees the administration of bankruptcy cases, argues that it is not.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2023

He has been for twenty years a Trustee of Queen's College, Kingston, of which his father was one of the active founders.

From The Canadian Portrait Gallery - Volumes 1 to 4 by Dent, John Charles

Related Words

• agent
• custodian
• executor