ad hoc
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day
Merriam-Webster
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🗓️ 4 March 2026
⏱️ 2 minutes
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Summary
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 4, 2026 is:
ad hoc • \AD-HOCK\ • adjective
Ad hoc describes something that is formed or used for a special purpose, or that is made or done without planning because of an immediate need.
// An ad hoc committee was formed to investigate the matter.
// The company will hire more staff on an ad hoc basis.
Examples:
"At the centre of the plan were tools designed to help governments and councils move beyond ad hoc responses to extreme weather." — Kirsty Johnston, The New Zealand Herald, 31 Jan. 2026
Did you know?
In Latin ad hoc literally means "for this," and in English the term describes anything that can be thought of as existing "for this purpose only." For example, an ad hoc committee is generally authorized to look into a single matter of limited scope, not to broadly pursue any issue of interest. Ad hoc can also be used as an adverb meaning "for the particular end or case at hand without consideration of wider application," as in "decisions were made ad hoc."
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's the Word of the Day podcast for March 4th. |
| 0:12.0 | Today's word is ad hoc, spelled as two words as they would be in Latin, ADHOC. |
| 0:19.0 | Ad hoc is an adjective. It describes something that is formed or used for |
| 0:24.5 | a special purpose, or that is made or done without planning because of an immediate need. |
| 0:31.1 | Here's the word used in a sentence from the New Zealand Herald. |
| 0:34.9 | At the center of the plan were tools designed to help governments and councils |
| 0:40.2 | move beyond ad hoc responses to extreme weather. In Latin, ad hoc literally means for this, |
| 0:48.9 | and in English, the term describes anything that can be thought of as existing for this purpose only. |
| 0:56.4 | For example, an ad hoc committee is generally authorized to look into a single matter of limited scope, |
| 1:03.6 | not to broadly pursue any issue of interest. |
| 1:07.9 | Ad hoc can also be used as an adverb, meaning for the particular end or case at hand, |
| 1:14.4 | without consideration of wider application, as in decisions were made ad hoc. |
| 1:20.4 | With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski. |
| 1:25.7 | Visit Miriamwebster.com today for definitions, wordplay, and trending word lookups. |
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