panel

1 of 2

noun

pan·​el ˈpa-nᵊl 

1

a(1)

: a schedule containing names of persons summoned as jurors

(2)

: the group of persons so summoned

summoned a panel of 40 citizens for jury duty

(3)

: jury sense 1

The 12-person panel arrived at a guilty verdict.

b(1)

: a group of persons selected for some service (such as investigation or arbitration)

a panel of experts

a government advisory panel

(2)

: a group of persons who discuss before an audience a topic of public interest

The panel agreed to accept questions following the discussion.

also : panel discussion

(3)

: a group of entertainers or guests engaged as players in a quiz or guessing game on a radio or television program

The quiz show included a panel of three players.

2

: a separate or distinct part of a surface: such as

a

: a fence section : hurdle

b(1)

: a thin usually rectangular board set in a frame (as in a door)

(2)

: a usually sunken or raised section of a surface set off by a margin

(3)

: a flat usually rectangular piece of construction material (such as plywood or precast masonry) made to form part of a surface

c

: a vertical section of fabric (such as a gore)

d

: comic strip

also : a frame of a comic strip

The comic strip was composed of four panels.

3

: a thin flat piece of wood on which a picture is painted

also : a painting on such a surface

4

a

: a section of a switchboard (as for circuit breakers or for a telephone exchange)

… he entered the basement to work on the electrical panel and circuits …

—Thomas J. Nardi

b

: a usually vertical mount for controls or dials (as of instruments of measurement)

Most microwave ovens have a control panel with numbers from 0 to 9.

panel

2 of 2

verb

paneled or panelled; paneling or panelling

transitive verb

: to furnish or decorate with panels

paneled the living room

Synonyms

Noun

• colloquy
• conference
• council
• forum
• panel discussion
• parley
• round-robin
• roundtable
• seminar
• symposium

Examples of panel in a Sentence

Noun

The university is hosting a panel on free speech.

Tonight's show features a panel of famous chefs.

Three of the members on the panel are doctors.

The advisory panel has recommended that the drug be approved.

A panel of judges selected the book for this year's award.

The room was visible through the door's glass panel.

One of the ceiling panels needs to be replaced.

Each of the skirt's five panels is a different color.

Sew the two panels together to form a tablecloth.

Aside from a dent in one of the side panels the car is in good shape.

Verb

We paneled the living room with oak.

The walls were paneled in oak.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Two Boeing engineering executives went into detail Monday to describe how panels are fitted together, particularly on the 787 Dreamliner. —David Koenig, Fortune, 16 Apr. 2024

Waithe was joined on the panel by Jojo T. Gibbs, star of her coming-of-age BET series Twenties, D. Smith, producer and director of the Sundance Audience Award-winning film Kokomo City, and Independent Spirit Award Winning director A.V. Rockwell of A Thousand and One. —Essence, 16 Apr. 2024

The panel is scheduled to meet two more times this week. —Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 16 Apr. 2024

Critics argued that the panels would detract from the structure’s historic exterior. —Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024

The plan is languishing in the Senate, where Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the finance panel’s top Republican, has questions about the child credit and other provisions of the bill. —David Lightman, Sacramento Bee, 15 Apr. 2024

They are lit from the L.E.D. panels, and thus don’t assume the telltale green-screen tint. —Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024

Since moving into the community three years ago, Grove has helped to organize panels and promote The Forum’s Sustainability Committee and Green Team, which hosts lecture series, recycling initiatives and other activities around environmental awareness. —Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2024

Sewn rim tape material at the top of the envelope was frayed and several panels were damaged. —Sasha Hupka, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024

Verb

But the San Ramon location in particular provides a cozy farmhouse feel for anyone who wants to linger, with an entire wall paneled in rough-hewn wood and drinks served in Mason jars, not plastic cups. —Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024

Aspen Meadows’ latest flex is the new West End Social restaurant, paneled in light wood that nods to Aspen’s beloved Bauhaus style, with floor-to-ceiling windows and vibrant contemporary art. —Maya Kachroo-Levine, Travel + Leisure, 28 Mar. 2024

Takal uses vivid color and paneled iconography to explore complex issues relating to behavior and personal patterns. —Seth Combs, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2024

Upon returning to Wildhorse 66 horse rescue in Ash Fork on Jan. 3, founder and Chairwoman Kim Meagher found $11,000 worth of paneling missing from her rescue. —The Arizona Republic, 28 Jan. 2024

The wood paneled store, with its green walls and bookshelves, has the original flooring from its past life as a market. —Nushrat Rahman, Detroit Free Press, 18 Jan. 2024

That office is now gone, the wood paneling a thing of lore now, and so, too, are any reminders that the 49ers were once housed there. —Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee, 9 Feb. 2024

Related content The lobby retains its historic Art Deco charm with the original terrazzo flooring, decorative logo paneled walls, and a mural by Earl LaPan depicting an Everglades idyll that was the fashion in South Beach hotel lobbies in the 1930s. —Miami Staff, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024

While the great room has an open layout, the room is strategically separated through the use of wall paint and variations in ceiling paneling from the kitchen and dining area to the living room. —Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 29 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English panel, panele, pannel "piece of cloth, saddle cloth, pane of glass, part, division, list of jurors on a piece of parchment, jury," borrowed from Anglo-French, "section of a surface, covering on a horse, list of jurors" (continental Old & Middle French also panel, penel "piece of cloth, kind of gaiter, saddle cushion"), going back to Vulgar Latin *pannellus, from Latin pannus "piece of cloth, rag" + -ellus, diminutive suffix — more at vane

Note: Compare pane. As trial by jury was an English rather than a continental tradition, it is unsurprising that panel in the sense "list of jurors" developed only in Anglo-French.

Verb

Middle English panellen "to cover a saddle with cloth, empanel a jury," derivative of panel, panele "piece of cloth, saddle cloth, pane of glass, part, division, list of jurors on a piece of parchment, jury" — more at panel entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing panel

• flat-panel
• instrument panel
• jury panel
• panel discussion
• panel truck
• quarter panel
• rocker panel
• solar panel
• sub-panel

Kids Definition

panel

1 of 2 noun

pan·​el ˈpan-ᵊl 

1

a

: a list or a group of persons selected as jurors

b

: a group of persons who discuss a topic before an audience

c

: a group of entertainers or guests who are players in a quiz or guessing game on a radio or television program

2

: a separate or different part of a surface: as

a

: a usually rectangular and sunken or raised section of a door, wall, or ceiling

b

: a flat usually rectangular piece of construction material (as plywood) made to form part of a surface

c

: a lengthwise section of cloth (as in a skirt or dress)

3

a

: a thin flat piece of wood on which a picture is painted

b

: a painting on such a surface

4

: a usually vertical mount for controls or dials (as of instruments of measurement)

panel

2 of 2 verb

paneled or panelled; paneling or panelling

: to furnish or decorate with panels

Medical Definition

panel

noun

pan·​el ˈpan-ᵊl 

: a list or group of persons selected for some service: as

a

: a list of physicians from among whom a patient may make a choice in accordance with various British health and insurance plans

b

: the patients cared for by a doctor under such a plan

Legal Definition

panel

noun

pan·​el

1

: a group of community members summoned for jury service

2

: a group of usually three judges among the judges sitting on an appellate court who hear a particular appeal compare full court