What does committee mean?
A committee is a group of individuals, typically selected from a larger organization, who are delegated responsibility for a specific task — such as reviewing policies, planning events, conducting investigations, or making recommendations. Committees are fundamental to how institutions operate, appearing in parliaments, corporate boards, charities, schools, and clubs alike; common types include standing committees, which persist over time, and ad hoc committees, formed temporarily for a single purpose. The word derives from the verb commit, reflecting the idea that members have been entrusted with a charge or duty. In older legal usage, committee also denoted the person entrusted with the care of another's property or affairs. Because committees distribute work and dilute individual accountability, they carry a mild cultural reputation for slowness — captured in the wry saying that a camel is a horse designed by a committee — yet they remain indispensable tools for collective decision-making.
nounA group of people appointed or elected to perform a specific function, such as considering, investigating, or acting on a particular matter. It can also refer more broadly to the state of being entrusted with the care and custody of something.
- A group of persons appointed or elected to consider, investigate, or act upon a specific matter, especially within an organization or legislature.
- (Legal) The entrusting of charge, duty, or care of a person or thing to someone; the state of having been committed into another's keeping.
"The finance committee met on Tuesday to review next year's budget proposals."
"The organizing committee spent months preparing for the annual conference."
"Under English law, a person found incapable of managing their own affairs may be placed under a committee of guardians."
Standard plural; used identically in British and American English.
"Several committees reported their findings at the annual general meeting."
The word 'committee' literally comes from 'commit' — because joining one means you've been committed (some might say condemned) to doing the group's work.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of committee
Committee entered English in the early 17th century as a legal term meaning one to whom something is committed — that is, entrusted. It derives from the verb commit, which comes from Latin committere, meaning 'to bring together' or 'to entrust', formed from com- ('with, together') and mittere ('to send'). Related words sharing this root include commission, commissar, and commend.
How committee is actually used
Committee is used in both formal institutional contexts and everyday organizational settings. Plural is committees.
Easily confused with committee
A commission is typically an official body established by a government or larger authority with broad powers of inquiry or administration, whereas a committee is usually a smaller group appointed within an organization for a narrower purpose.
A council is generally a formal deliberative or advisory assembly, often elected, while a committee is usually a subset of a larger body charged with handling one specific matter.