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It’s hard to pinpoint the exact origins of caucus, but some scholars think the word may have developed from an Algonquian term for a group of elders, leaders, or advisers. An early example of the word in use comes from John Adams, who in February of 1763 reported that the Boston “caucus club,” a group of politically active city elders, would soon meet and that, at the meetings, those present would “smoke tobacco till you [could not] see from one end of the garret to the other.” A similarly opaque smoke screen seems to cloud the history of caucus to this day.
Examples of caucus in a Sentence
Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 29 Mar. 2026
Hickenlooper, meanwhile, had initially intended to go through the caucus and assembly process before putting his efforts into the petition process.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 28 Mar. 2026
ABC News, 23 Mar. 2026
Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona left the Democratic Party in 2022, and Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia did the same in 2024, briefly joining Sanders and King as independents who still caucused with the Democrats.
—Elaine Godfrey, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Caucus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caucus. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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caucus
noun
