forum

noun

fo·​rum ˈfȯr-əm 

plural forums also fora ˈfȯr-ə 

1

a

: the marketplace or public place of an ancient Roman city forming the center of judicial and public business

b

: a public meeting place for open discussion

The club provides a forum for people interested in local history.

c

: a medium (such as a newspaper or online service) of open discussion or expression of ideas

2

: a judicial body or assembly : court

3

a

: a public meeting or lecture involving audience discussion

The town has scheduled a public forum to discuss the proposal.

b

: a program (as on radio or television) involving discussion of a problem usually by several authorities

Synonyms

• symposium
• seminar
• conference
• panel

Examples of forum in a Sentence

Forums were held to determine how to handle the situation.

The town has scheduled a public forum to discuss the proposal.

The club provides a forum for people who share an interest in local history.

Recent Examples on the Web

Before the technology is deployed, the company works with the community to build awareness, hold forums to determine where it's needed most, and meet with school officials and PTAs. —Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 21 Sep. 2025

The Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute’s CEO forum gathers top political leaders with Fortune 500 CEOs for a Chatham House rules discussion where direct quotes are off the record. —Jason Ma, Fortune, 21 Sep. 2025

What has changed since 1999 is the digital landscape, Brauchler said, noting that online forums amplify manifestos, glorify killers, and celebrate body counts like video game scores. —Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2025

The rise of Al-Qaeda in the late 1980s and early 1990s roughly coincided with the beginning of the Internet era, and supporters found fertile ground to sow the seeds of jihadi ideology on websites and forums subject to little oversight at the time. —Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin; akin to Latin foris outside, fores door — more at door

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for forum

• aurum
• foram
• quorum
• decorum
• picloram
• pullorum
• digitorum
• neonatorum

Kids Definition

forum

noun

fo·​rum ˈfōr-əm 

ˈfȯr-

plural forums also fora -ə 

1

: the marketplace or public place of an ancient Roman city serving as the center of public business

2

: a means (as a newspaper or online service) of open discussion or expression of ideas

3

: a meeting or program involving discussion

Legal Definition

forum

noun

fo·​rum ˈfō-rəm 

1

: public forum

2

a

: a judicial body or assembly : court

allowed the defendant in a state court action to choose the federal forum by removing the case

—M. H. Redish

b

: the territorial jurisdiction of a court

due process requires defendant to have minimum level of contacts with forum before personal jurisdiction may be exercised

—National Law Journal