Meaning & use
executive committee
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A small group chosen by a larger organization to make important decisions and act on its behalf.
Grammar: Countable: say 'an executive committee' or 'executive committees'; the group acts as one body, so it can take a singular verb.
Patterns
- the executive committee of something
- serve on an executive committee
- the executive committee meets/decides
The club's executive committee meets on the first Monday of every month.
She was elected to the executive committee of the national teachers' union.
The executive committee approved the budget while the full board was on holiday.
nouncountablebusiness
The senior managers at the top of a company who run its daily operations.
Grammar: Often used with a capital letter in a company name or title, e.g. 'the Executive Committee'.
Patterns
- join the executive committee
- report to the executive committee
- a member of the executive committee
The new marketing director now sits on the company's executive committee.
Only the executive committee can sign contracts worth more than a million dollars.
Word forms
| plural | executive committees |
|---|
Common combinations
- serve on the executive committee
- He has served on the executive committee for three years.
- the executive committee of the board
- The executive committee of the board handles urgent matters.
- an executive committee meeting
- The executive committee meeting lasted all afternoon.
- a member of the executive committee
- Every member of the executive committee received the report.
- the executive committee approved the plan
- The executive committee approved the plan without discussion.
Synonyms and how they differ
- board
- A board is the full governing group of a company; an executive committee is usually a smaller subgroup that acts for it.
- steering committee
- A steering committee guides a project or campaign, while an executive committee has ongoing authority to make decisions.
- management team
- This stresses the senior managers themselves rather than a formally elected or appointed group.
Word family
Commonly confused: executive committee or executive board? executive committee or advisory committee?
executive committee vs executive board
An executive board is often the main governing body itself, whereas an executive committee is usually a smaller group acting between full meetings.
executive committee vs advisory committee
An advisory committee only gives advice; an executive committee has the power to decide and act.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'executive committee' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'A member of the executive committee of an organization' is the standard pattern. Option 3 misses 'the', and the other options put the words in an impossible order.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “executive committee”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.