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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
Tyler Pager, Washington Post, 17 July 2024
While more than half of the Democratic caucus in the Senate last year called for the New Jersey Democrat's resignation after he was charged, Schumer, a New York Democrat, had resisted.
—Lawrence Andrea, Journal Sentinel, 16 July 2024
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 12 July 2024
Sanders, the Vermont independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, plans to hit Mount Pleasant on Wednesday, Sheboygan and Kaukauna on Thursday before heading west toward Stevens Point and Eau Claire on Friday and La Crosse on Saturday.
—Rachel Hale, Journal Sentinel, 26 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for caucus 
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.
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“Caucus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caucus. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
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caucus
noun
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