caucus

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A meeting of the local members of a political party especially to select delegates to a convention or register preferences for candidates running for office.
2. n. A closed meeting of party members within a legislative body to decide on questions of policy or leadership.
3. n. A group within a legislative or decision-making body seeking to represent a specific interest or influence a particular area of policy: a minority caucus.
4. n. Chiefly British A committee within a political party charged with determining policy.
5. v. To assemble in or hold a caucus.
6. v. To assemble or canvass (members of a caucus).

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In U. S. politics:
2. n. A local meeting of the voters of a party to nominate candidates for local offices, or to elect delegates to a convention for the nomination of more important officers. In the latter sense, caucuses are now generally called primaries. Admission to a party caucus is generally open only to known and registered members of the party.
3. n. A similar congressional, legislative, or other gathering of leading members of a party for conference as to party measures and policy. Candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency of the United States were nominated by party caucuses of members of Congress from 1800 to 1824.
4. n. Any meeting of managers or of interested persons for the purpose of deciding upon a line of policy, an arrangement of business, etc., to be brought before a larger meeting, as a convention.
5. n. In Eng. politics, a large local committee of voters for the management of all electioneering business of its party: called the Birmingham system, from its introduction at Birmingham about 1880.
6. To meet in caucus; come together and confer.

Wiktionary

1. n. US A meeting, especially a preliminary meeting, of persons belonging to a party, to nominate candidates for public office, or to select delegates to a nominating convention, or to confer regarding measures of party policy; a political primary meeting.
2. n. US, Canada A grouping of all the members of a legislature from the same party.
3. v. US To meet and participate in caucus.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A meeting, especially a preliminary meeting, of persons belonging to a party, to nominate candidates for public office, or to select delegates to a nominating convention, or to confer regarding measures of party policy; a political primary meeting.
2. v. To hold, or meet in, a caucus or caucuses.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a closed political meeting
2. v. meet to select a candidate or promote a policy