agenda

agenda — noun

1. a written set of topics that people plan to talk about or decide on during a mee

1.nounC1
Definition

a written set of topics that people plan to talk about or decide on during a meeting, class, or other organized discussion.

Example

The chair emailed the agenda before Monday's budget meeting at City Hall.

agenda before a meeting

Please add school lunches to the agenda for tonight's parent meeting.

add something to the agenda

Common collocations
  • draw up an agenda
  • follow the agenda
  • item on the agenda
  • agenda for the meeting
Synonyms
  • schedule

    can overlap, but usually emphasizes timing rather than discussion topics

  • order of business

    more formal and specifically for the sequence of meeting items

  • program

    often used for events or classes rather than formal discussion

Grammar Patterns

an agenda for + meeting

on the agenda

add + noun + to the agenda

Usage Note

Common with verbs such as 'write', 'circulate', 'follow', and 'add to'. Distinguish from sense 2, which is about broader goals rather than the topic list for one meeting.

Common Mistakes

The budget issue was in the agenda.
The budget issue was on the agenda.
use 'on' for a topic included in a meeting list.
We prepared an agenda of the meeting.
We prepared an agenda for the meeting.
use 'for' to show which meeting the list belongs to.

2. a group's set of goals or changes it hopes to achieve, especially over time thro

2.nounC2
Definition

a group's set of goals or changes it hopes to achieve, especially over time through planned action.

Example

Lower rent was high on the mayor's agenda after the summer protests.

high on someone's agenda

The charity's agenda includes free meals and warm beds for teenagers.

agenda includes goals

Common collocations
  • political agenda
  • campaign agenda
  • reform agenda
  • top of the agenda
Synonyms
  • plan

    broader and less often linked to politics or public priorities

  • program

    often suggests a more organized set of actions or policies

  • platform

    best for the public aims and promises of a political group

Grammar Patterns

someone's agenda

high on the agenda

agenda for + noun/-ing

Usage Note

Often modified by words like 'political', 'campaign', 'economic', or 'reform'. Distinguish from sense 1, which is the list for one meeting, and from sense 3, which suggests a motive someone may be hiding.

Common Mistakes

My agenda tomorrow is very busy.
My schedule tomorrow is very busy.
this sense of 'agenda' is about goals or plans, not your timetable.
The party's agenda is at three o'clock.
The party meeting is at three o'clock.
an 'agenda' is not the meeting time itself.

3. a private purpose behind someone's words or actions, especially one they do not

3.nounC1
Definition

a private purpose behind someone's words or actions, especially one they do not admit openly.

Example

Mina suspected the reporter had a hidden agenda behind the friendly questions.

hidden agenda

His offer to help came with an agenda nobody trusted.

come with an agenda

Common collocations
  • hidden agenda
  • personal agenda
  • agenda behind the proposal
  • come with an agenda
Synonyms
  • motive

    general word for a reason behind an action, without always implying secrecy

  • ulterior motive

    very close in meaning and clearly suggests a hidden, often selfish purpose

  • intention

    more neutral and less suspicious than 'agenda' in this sense

Grammar Patterns

a hidden agenda

agenda behind + noun

have an agenda

Usage Note

Most often used when people distrust someone's public reason for acting. Frequently appears as 'hidden agenda' and usually carries a negative tone.

Common Mistakes

I think she has an agenda to sell the product.
I think she has an agenda behind that advice.
this sense is a hidden motive, not a direct 'to + verb' plan.
The manager showed agenda in his speech.
The manager showed a hidden agenda in his speech.
this sense normally needs an article and often an adjective such as 'hidden'.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For meetings, 'agenda' is the standard word for a prepared list of topics. 'Schedule' can overlap, but it usually tells you when things happen, not what will be discussed. 'Order of business' is more formal and narrower; it fits committee meetings, board meetings, and other structured settings. 'Plan' is broader and less tied to meetings, so it can describe almost any arrangement for future action. 'Itinerary' belongs to travel and events, not discussion points. In practice, a school might send parents an agenda before a meeting, a conference website posts a schedule, and a tour company gives you an itinerary. If the council changes the order of topics for Tuesday night, it changes the agenda, not the schedule.

agenda ↗schedule ↗order of businessplan ↗itinerary ↗

Etymology

LatinEnglish

'Agenda' began as the Latin plural of 'agendum', meaning 'things to be done', from the verb 'agere', 'to do' or 'to drive'. English first used it in learned writing for matters that required action, and from that idea it widened to the modern senses of a meeting list, a program of goals, and even a hidden purpose behind what someone says or does.