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

The 30-second ads feature footage of angry constituents at town halls expressing opposition to Medicaid cuts. —Joseph Choi, The Hill, 7 Apr. 2025

Republican party leaders have told Republican members of Congress not to hold any town hall meetings in person. —Gary Franks, Hartford Courant, 5 Apr. 2025

Until Wednesday, Evans had yet to hold a town hall meeting since his swearing-in three months ago. —John Aguilar, Denver Post, 2 Apr. 2025

Democrats across the country have faced heated town hall audiences and low approval ratings among members of their own party. —Andrew Solender, Axios, 2 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for town hall

• aldol
• armhole
• atoll
• awol
• backhaul
• banal
• baseball
• befall
• cabal
• catchall
• cecal
• centrale

Kids Definition

town hall

noun

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