by committee

adverb

Through the collaborative efforts of multiple contributors, as a team or committee assigned to accomplish a goal; especially as known for protracted proceedings, a lack of responsiveness, or undesired results.

“A camel is a horse designed by committee.”

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

adverb
  1. Through the collaborative efforts of multiple contributors, as a team or committee assigned to accomplish a goal; especially as known for protracted proceedings, a lack of responsiveness, or undesired results.
  2. figurativelyhumoroussometimesWith any of the results cynically attributed to committee projects, e.g. unnecessary complexity, inconsistency, logical flaws, lack of a unifying vision, banality, lack of style or character, etc.

    A camel is a horse designed by committee.

    1 more example

    Writing workshops result in poetry by committee.

Cite this entry
APA

by committee. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20committee

MLA

“by committee.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20committee. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “by committee,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20committee.

Source: by committee on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.