death panel

noun

A fictitious government committee which is responsible for choosing which of various patients will receive healthcare, and which withholds life-saving treatment from some in order to reduce costs.

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Meanings

noundeath panel (plural death panels)

plural death panels

  1. USotherwise humorousA fictitious government committee which is responsible for choosing which of various patients will receive healthcare, and which withholds life-saving treatment from some in order to reduce costs.

Origin

First used in a 2009 Facebook note by U.S. politician Sarah Palin: "... my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care."

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Cite this entry
APA

death panel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20panel

MLA

“death panel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20panel. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “death panel,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20panel.

Source: death panel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.