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

In the sketch, Gardner played NewsNation host Bobbi Moore, who is moderating a town hall on the AI revolution. —Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 7 Dec. 2024

In ‘Beavis & Butt-Head’ Spoof Mikey Day Explains Why That Beavis & Butt-Head Sketch Left Heidi Gardner In Stitches Gardner played a NewsNation journalist holding a town hall about A.I., with Kenan Thompson playing an MIT professor. —Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 7 Dec. 2024

Meanwhile, in a series of virtual town halls and robocalls, Trump and daughter-in-law Lara Trump, the co-chair of the Republican National Committee, actively encouraged voters to take advantage of early voting options, including mail-in ballots. —Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2024

Cantrell and other city executives presented their proposals to the council, and the public weighed in at several town halls over the past several weeks. —Carlie Kollath Wells, Axios, 3 Dec. 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