ad hoc

[ ad hok; Latin ahd hohk ]

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.

ad hoc

/ æd ˈhɒk /

adjective

1. for a particular purpose only; lacking generality or justification

   an ad hoc committee

   an ad hoc decision

ad hoc

1. 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).”

Word History and Origins

Origin of ad hoc¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of ad hoc¹

Latin, literally: to this

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

They said they carried out an "urgent preliminary investigation" on Sunday which suggested the door policy had been changed "ad hoc".

From BBC

Rather than an ad hoc workaround, pen and paper systems could be something staff practise using from time to time so that they can switch away from their computers seamlessly if required.

From BBC

Most members of the ad hoc Assembly Petroleum and Gasoline Supply Committee were noncommittal on the storage issue.

From Los Angeles Times

“Those investments have often been made in a very ad hoc manner.”

From Los Angeles Times

Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh related that Straussians filled the Pentagon’s ad hoc Office of Special Plans, and had bulldozed the government’s intelligence agencies in order to cherry-pick dubious evidence to fit their preconceived notions.

From Salon

Related Words

• impromptu
• provisional