ad hoc
Use Ad hoc in a sentence
adverb
1.
for the special purpose or end presently under consideration: a committee formed ad hoc to deal with the issue.
adjective
2.
concerned or dealing with a specific subject, purpose, or end: The ad hoc committee disbanded after making its final report.
Origin:
1550–60; < Latin ad hōc for this
1550–60; < Latin ad hōc for this
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To ad hoc
Collins
World English Dictionary
ad hoc (æd ˈhɒk) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj, —adv | |
| for a particular purpose only; lacking generality or justification: an ad hoc decision; an ad hoc committee | |
| [Latin, literally: to this] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Ad hoc
is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
ad hoc
1650s, from L., lit. "for this (specific purpose)."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
ad hoc definition
Contrived purely for the purpose in hand rather than planned carefully in advance. E.g. "We didn't know what to do about the sausage rolls, so we set up an ad-hoc committee".
(1995-03-25)
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
ad hoc
For the special purpose or end at hand; also, by extension, improvised or impromptu. The term, Latin for "to this," is most often used for committees established for a specific purpose, as in The committee was formed ad hoc to address health insurance problems. The term is also used as an adjective (An ad hoc committee was formed), and has given rise to the noun adhocism for the tendency to use temporary, provisional, or improvised methods to deal with a particular problem. [Early 1600s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
Search tools dispense with categories and let users define their needs ad hoc.
In fact, the very act of paying federal bills creates money ad hoc.
Their main attraction is in encouraging ad hoc file sharing and communications among work-groups.
The ad hoc nature of our spousal appointments also increased the resistance of some departments to hiring the partners.
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