DictionaryAI

committee

noun
Saykuh-MIT-ee/ˌkɑmɪˈtiː//ˌkɒmɪˈtiː/

Pluralcommittees

3 meanings of committee

Practice

  1. 1
    groupnouncountable
    A group of one or more people brought together to accomplish a specific purpose, usually following formal rules.

    The committee voted unanimously to approve next year's budget.

    She chairs a committee responsible for reviewing safety standards across the plant.

    UsagePeople sit on, serve on or chair a committee, and questions are referred to it.

    Similarpanel, board, commission, council

    Note

    Behind the word is the verb commit. It is most likely commit plus -ee, though it may revive Anglo-Norman commite, "committed", from Latin committere, "to entrust". Either way, a committee is those to whom a matter has been committed, which is why one person can form one.

  2. 2
    guardiannounarchaic
    A guardian appointed to take charge of a person judged unable to look after their own affairs.
    Note

    Here the word names a single person rather than a group. It stays closest to the origin told under the meeting-body sense: this is the one to whom another person's care has been committed. In older legal usage, a court appointed such a guardian over someone declared incapable, to manage their estate and welfare. It survives in British Columbia, whose courts still appoint a committee, and in Hong Kong, for a committee of the estate; elsewhere guardian is the usual word.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • The guardian sense reflects the entrusting or committing of another person's care to someone. gutenberg.org
    • Historically, judicially appointed committees cared for people found incapable and managed their estates. en.wikisource.org
    • British Columbia courts still appoint committees under Canadian law. bclaws.gov.bc.ca
    • The term also survives in Hong Kong, where courts appoint committees to manage mentally incapacitated people's estates. judiciary.hk

Less common meaning

  1. 3
    nounPakistan
    Alternative form of kameti.

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Origin

Two accounts exist, and the OED3 favors the first: the word is simply 'commit' with the suffix '-ee' added. On the other account it revives Anglo-Norman 'commite', past participle of 'commettre' ('to commit'), which goes back to Latin 'committere', built from 'con-' ('with') and 'mittere' ('to send').