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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Others are sleeping in cars at town hall parking lots and parks, or outside of their homes. — ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026 Katen Whitaker, an Eagle resident and Farmers Union shareholder, addressed City Council during a town hall in June about an FAQ from the Department of Environmental Quality covering Class A water projects. — Noah Daly august 2, Idaho Statesman, 2 Aug. 2026 Many others slept in cars parked at town hall parking lots and parks or outside their homes. — Mari Yamaguchi, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2026 With the work still incomplete, residents held a town hall demanding what they were promised. — Lauren Pozen, CBS News, 1 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for town hall

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of town hall was in the 15th century

Rhymes for town hall

See All Rhymes for town hall

Browse Nearby Words

towngate
town hall
townhome
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Town hall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/town%20hall. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

town hall

noun
: a public building used for offices and meetings of town government
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All