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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
Claudia Grisales, NPR, 13 Mar. 2025
With special elections for two vacant seats wrapped up and new members, Assemblymember Stan Ellis and Sen. Tony Strickland, sworn in, Republican caucuses have netted three seats since last year (not counting Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil’s switch to the party).
—Nicole Nixon, Sacramento Bee, 12 Mar. 2025
Allison Pecorin, ABC News, 3 Jan. 2025
The political independent, who sometimes caucused with her former Democratic Party, drew a hard line on the filibuster and spoke her mind.
—Ross O'Keefe, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Caucus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caucus. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
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caucus
noun
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