committee

noun

com·​mit·​tee kə-ˈmi-tē How to pronounce committee (audio)
 sense 2 also  ˌkä-mi-ˈtē
1
a
: a body of persons delegated to consider, investigate, take action on, or report on some matter
an advisory committee
specifically : a group of fellow legislators chosen by a legislative body to give consideration to legislative matters
The bill has been sent back to committee.
b
: a self-constituted organization for the promotion of a common object
the Olympic Committee
the Northwest Wildlife Committee
c
US sports, informal : a group of players on a team who share a particular role in the team's play instead of having an individual player principally assigned to that role
After going with a committee of running backs last season, the Chiefs were hoping Bam Morris would be able to go the full 16 games as the feature runner, something he has never done in his career.Bob Fedas
2
archaic : a person to whom a charge or trust is committed

Examples of committee in a Sentence

We're waiting for recommendations from the advisory committee. The bill has been referred back to committee.
Recent Examples on the Web These are some of the big questions a new committee of state lawmakers want to explore. Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024 Gilroy’s council voted against a resolution and Albany has created a council committee to explore taking a stance. Judith Prieve, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024 The new report comes in advance of an April meeting of a committee of the United Nations Environment Program, which aims to put together a global plastics treaty with 175 countries before the end of the year. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Mar. 2024 That also might involve hearing the message the selection committee is sending and doing something about it. Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2024 The Vote Yes for MPS campaign, which organized the press conference Tuesday, is a committee that supported the last MPS referendum in 2020 and revived in January. Rory Linnane, Journal Sentinel, 19 Mar. 2024 Navarro was convicted in September of two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to provide testimony and documents to the House committee that first investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Lalee Ibssa, ABC News, 19 Mar. 2024 The motion was eventually referred to a parliamentary committee for further review, deputy speaker of the parliament Seedy SK Njie said. Nimi Princewill, CNN, 19 Mar. 2024 Of the 100, 89 boards had ESG committees in 2023, compared to just 22 in 2018. Alan Murray, Fortune, 18 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'committee.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English commyttee, from committen "to commit" + -ee -ee entry 1

Note: Stress on the penultimate syllable is perhaps by association with Latin comitia comitia.

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of committee was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near committee

Cite this Entry

“Committee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/committee. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

committee

noun
com·​mit·​tee kə-ˈmit-ē How to pronounce committee (audio)
: a group of persons appointed or elected to consider or take action on some matter
a legislative committee

Legal Definition

committee

noun
com·​mit·​tee
1
: a person to whom a charge (as an incompetent) is committed compare conservator, curator, guardian, tutor
2
a
: a body of persons delegated or assigned to consider, investigate, act on, or report on some matter
especially : a group of fellow legislators chosen by a legislative body to consider legislative matters (as drafting bills or conducting hearings)
the Senate judiciary committee
see also conference committee, joint committee
b
: a private organization for the promotion of a common object
political action committees
compare council

More from Merriam-Webster on committee

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!