town hall

noun

1

: a public building used for town-government offices and meetings

2

: an event at which a public official or political candidate addresses an audience by answering questions posed by individual members

Town halls have lost some of their spontaneity. The 80 or so undecided voters chosen for Tuesday's event must submit their questions in advance and moderator Candy Crowley of CNN will decide which people to call on.

—Connie Cass

Examples of town hall in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

During a town hall on the Sixers' arena proposal, Parker walked through a PowerPoint presentation detailing the specifics of the city's agreement. —Bryan Toporek, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024

In April, law enforcement shut down a Dolton town hall meeting over safety concerns that a brawl would break out involving Henyard and residents. —Elaine Mallon, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 27 Sep. 2024

Harris will participate in a similar town hall with undecided Latinos on Oct. 10 in Las Vegas. —Gene Maddaus, Variety, 24 Sep. 2024

Presidential candidates typically did joint town hall debates in past cycles, when the events were organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates. —Ted Johnson, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

town hall

noun

: a public building used for offices and meetings of town government