committee
n. countablen. a small group of people chosen to represent a larger organization and make decisions about specific topics. You often see these groups in business, government, or schools.
n. a body of people delegated to consider, investigate, take action on, or report on some matter. Often functions as a collective noun that can take a singular or plural verb depending on regional dialect.
The committee meets every Tuesday morning.
The finance committee rejected the proposal because the projected costs were too high for the current budget.
After months of deliberation, the steering committee published a comprehensive report outlining the necessary structural reforms for the upcoming fiscal year.
From commit + -ee, or else revival of Anglo-Norman commite, past participle of commettre (“to commit”), from Latin committere, from con- (“with”) + mittere (“to send”). The OED3 prefers the first etymology.
In British English, it can take a plural verb ('the committee are'); in American English, it almost always takes a singular verb ('the committee is').