trustee
Americannoun
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a person, usually one of a body of persons, appointed to administer the affairs of a company, institution, etc.
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a person who holds the title to property for the benefit of another.
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(in New England) a garnishee.
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a trusty.
verb (used with object)
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to place in the hands of a trustee or trustees.
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(in New England) to garnish.
noun
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a person to whom the legal title to property is entrusted to hold or use for another's benefit
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a member of a board that manages the affairs and administers the funds of an institution or organization
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.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of trustee
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.
Vocabulary lists containing trustee
The Inheritance Games
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The Legislative Branch, Sections 1–3
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Legal Lingo, List 3
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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.
See Examples For:
"Under the supervision of the commission, an independent trustee will monitor their implementation," it added.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
Unified to detail specifically how it will carry out the future cuts; otherwise the county superintendent will appoint a trustee with authority to veto spending decisions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Mr. Chisholm is a trustee of the Santa Fe Institute and of the Foundation for Economic Education.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Yes, you can structure a trust that gives an independent trustee quite a lot of discretion over posthumous distributions.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
“Me? A trustee? If only Fredrick were here!”
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
In a written comment to the board of trustees before the Wednesday meeting, both Weber and Rogers called for further scrutiny of Morales’ record.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Bisignano is one of the cathedral’s trustees, a group that at the time was responsible for raising funds for the historic $175 million renovation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Cooper has given the board of trustees until the end of July to explain why the tarpaulin remains in place.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Unfortunately, the case for neither change is very persuasive, and the trustees are significantly more optimistic than the Congressional Budget Office or the Census Bureau.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
The Duke vigil ended a few days later when Wright Tisdale, chair of the Duke trustees, announced that a minimum wage of $1.60 for nonacademic staff would be phased in over the next several months.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
It marked a stark change from April 2016, when the university’s board of trusteed voted to keep the former president’s name on campus buildings and programs.
From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2020
President Batten and Director Clarence L. Jordan each own 500 shares of the trusteed Ayer stock in addition to their other Ayer shares.
From Time Magazine Archive
General de Gaulle had already made it plain that France intended to be not one of the trusteed but one of the trustees.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is suing Washington's Riggs National Bank to recover $200,000 trusteed there for Mrs. Barnett out of the "donation" made to her.
From Time Magazine Archive
International retained its property rights in the trusteed New England shares and holds title to its Canadian power system.
From Time Magazine Archive
I know that I registered a vow that I would never again be trustee of anything without trusteeing it in fact.
From The Making of an American by Riis, Jacob A. (Jacob August)
She informed the executors that she wished to make over half her property to the old man, trusteeing it so that it should descend to his nephew.
From Overland by De Forest, J. W. (John William)
Definitions 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.
