ad hoc

[ ad hok; Latin ahd hohk ]
See synonyms for ad hoc on Thesaurus.com
adverb
  1. for the special purpose or end presently under consideration: a committee formed ad hoc to deal with the issue.

adjective
  1. concerned or dealing with a specific subject, purpose, or end: The ad hoc committee disbanded after making its final report.

Origin of ad hoc

1
First recorded in 1550–60; from Latin ad hōc “for this, to this”

Words that may be confused with ad hoc

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ad hoc in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ad hoc

ad hoc

/ (æd ˈhɒk) /


adjective, adverb
  1. for a particular purpose only; lacking generality or justification: an ad hoc decision; an ad hoc committee

Origin of ad hoc

1
Latin, literally: to this

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for ad hoc

ad hoc

[ (ad hok, ad hohk) ]


A phrase describing something created especially for a particular occasion: “We need an ad hoc committee to handle this new problem immediately.” From Latin, meaning “toward this (matter).”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with ad hoc

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® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.