# committee

/kəˈmɪti/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/committee
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. a decision-making group

noun · CEFR B2

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

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

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

Teaching 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.

## Examples

- 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.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.