committee of the whole

noun

1. the entire membership of a legislative body, sitting in a deliberative rather than a legislative capacity, for informal debate and preliminary consideration of matters awaiting legislative action.

Word History and Origins

Origin of committee of the whole¹

First recorded in 1745–55

Example Sentences

Their decisions were made in committee-of-the-whole, and nothing was done that could not meet with the willing consent of all.

From Project Gutenberg