Meaning & use
caucus
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Meanings
nouncountableAmerican
A local meeting where party members discuss and vote on candidates or policy.
Grammar: Countable: the Iowa caucus, caucuses in many states.
Patterns
- hold a caucus
- attend a caucus
Hundreds of neighbors packed the school gym for the caucus.
The caucus picks delegates for the convention.
She spoke at her first caucus last winter.
nouncountable
A group of lawmakers or politicians who share an interest or party and meet to agree on a position.
Grammar: Takes singular or plural verbs: the caucus is or are meeting.
Patterns
- caucus of something
- join a caucus
The women's caucus proposed a childcare bill.
The Democratic caucus met behind closed doors.
He joined the rural caucus.
verbintransitive
To meet and talk privately as a group to settle a plan or choose a position.
Grammar: No object: they caucused before the vote.
Patterns
- caucus with someone
The senators caucused on Tuesday.
The independents caucus with the larger party.
Delegates caucused to pick a leader.
Word forms
| plural | caucuses |
|---|---|
| third person singular | caucuses |
| past tense | caucused |
| -ing form | caucusing |
Common combinations
- Iowa caucus
- The Iowa caucus opens the primary season.
- party caucus
- The party caucus chose the leader.
- caucus meeting
- A caucus meeting was held on Monday.
- hold a caucus
- Parties hold a caucus in the winter.
- caucus members
- Caucus members voted to back the bill.
Synonyms and how they differ
- assembly
- An assembly is any gathering, while a caucus is a political group or meeting.
- bloc
- A bloc is a group with shared interests that votes together, while a caucus is an organized meeting or group.
- faction
- Faction implies a group within a larger body that may be split, often with a negative tone.
- conclave
- A conclave is a closed private meeting, famous for choosing a pope.
Word family
- caucuses noun
- plural of caucus
- caucused verb
- past tense of caucus
- caucusing verb
- -ing form of caucus
- caucus-goer noun
- a person who attends a caucus
Commonly confused: caucus or primary? caucus or Caucasus?
caucus vs primary
A primary is a state-run election where people vote by ballot, while a caucus is a longer local meeting.
caucus vs Caucasus
The Caucasus is a mountain region between Europe and Asia and has no link to a caucus.
Practice
Which sentence uses caucus as a verb?
Choose one answer.
Will caucus is a verb meaning to meet privately as a group. In the others caucus is a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “caucus”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.