Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - council

~ n 1 a group of people that are chosen to make rules, laws or decisions, or to give advice  (the council for civil liberties) 2 the organization that is responsible for local government in a particular region in Britain  (Bob Jones has been on the Borough Council for years. | council offices/housing/worker etc BrE (=owned, employed etc by local government))  (Dave's got his name down for a council flat.) 3 a group of people elected to the government of a city in the US  (the Los Angeles city council) 4 council of war humorous a meeting to decide how to deal with a particular problem