What does "committee" mean?

1. (a decision-making group) a group of people chosen to do a job, make decisions, or find information for a larger group.

How do you use "committee"?

In British English, it can take a singular or plural verb; in American English, it almost always takes a singular verb.

committee

US //kəˈmɪti// com·mit·tee

1 a decision-making group (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

a group of people chosen to do a job, make decisions, or find information for a larger group.

a formal body of persons delegated to consider, investigate, take action on, or report on some matter.

Example

The school committee met last night to discuss the new budget for sports equipment.

Example

The parliamentary committee launched an inquiry into the environmental impact of the proposed highway, summoning several expert witnesses to testify.

Usage

In British English, it can take a singular or plural verb; in American English, it almost always takes a singular verb.

Teacher's tip

Learners often struggle with subject-verb agreement for collective nouns like this. In the UK, 'the committee are' is common, but 'the committee is' is safer for international exams.

Origin

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.

Word family

Nouncommittee
Nounsubcommittee