caucus

1 of 2

noun

cau·cus ˈkȯ-kəs

: a closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction usually to select candidates or to decide on policy

a presidential caucus

also : a group of people united to promote an agreed-upon cause

caucus

2 of 2

verb

caucused; caucusing; caucuses

intransitive verb

: to meet in or hold a caucus

The committee caucused to select the most promising candidates.

Did you know?

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.

Example Sentences

Noun the National Women's Political Caucus Verb Democrats caucused last week to choose their candidates.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Those numbers come on the heels of a recent Fox News poll showing DeSantis trailing Trump by 40 points in the Iowa GOP presidential caucus. —

Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 7 Aug. 2023 Of New York’s fifty-one City Council members, all but six are Democrats, and twenty-one are in the progressive caucus that considers police reform an urgent priority. —

Ian Parker, The New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2023 Still, presidential campaigns can change on a dime and DeSantis has long banked on doing well in early primaries and caucuses and using that momentum to capture the nomination. —

Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 4 Aug. 2023 As a national figure in U.S. politics and a chair of the 104-member progressive caucus, Rep. Jayapal never expected to focus so keenly on security during work. —

oregonlive, 3 Aug. 2023 Seth Herald / Getty Images Ultimately, Johnson, who is white, narrowly avoided expulsion while Pearson and Jones were kicked out by the predominantly White GOP caucus. —

CBS News, 3 Aug. 2023 The question looming over the caucus is whether a Biden impeachment inquiry would amount to a political winner or an election-season misfire. —

Eric Cortellessa, Time, 31 July 2023 After criticizing Reynolds for remaining neutral ahead of the caucuses, Trump suffered the loss of an endorsement, with state Sen. Jeff Reichman endorsing DeSantis instead. —

Julia Johnson, Washington Examiner, 28 July 2023 The state Democratic Party faces an investigation by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) over the bylaw changes and elimination of caucuses. —

Alander Rocha, al, 29 July 2023

Verb

If Manchin became an independent and caucused with Democrats, the chamber would still have a 51-49 Democratic majority. —

Samantha-Jo Roth, Washington Examiner, 10 Aug. 2023 The power of evangelical leaders, some of whom are ready to move past Mr. Trump, could give other candidates an advantage when Iowans caucus on Jan. 15. —

Jonathan Weisman, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2023 The tally was 46 Democrats and 17 Republicans in favor; 31 Republicans along with four Democrats and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats opposed. —

Lisa Mascaro, Fortune, 2 June 2023 Although no longer a Democrat, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) continues to caucus with them in the Senate and has been forceful against the Biden administration publicly. —

Ryan King, Washington Examiner, 11 May 2023 In 2012, South Carolina Republicans voted in the primaries on Jan. 21, two weeks before Nevada Republicans caucused. —

Will McDuffie, ABC News, 17 June 2023 In deep blue New York, establishing climate goals at all required ousting right-leaning Democrats who caucused with Republicans, handing the GOP a de facto majority in Albany. —

Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 4 May 2023 Such a change in Senate procedures has only the slimmest of chances of winning the support of all 50 senators who caucus with the Democrats, which is needed to overcome universal Republican opposition. —

New York Times, 11 Jan. 2022 Democrats, including Baldwin, are defending 23 seats in the U.S. Senate in 2024, including two held by independents who caucus with Democrats. —

Scott Bauer, Chicago Tribune, 9 June 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'caucus.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.