hall

noun

1
a
: the castle or house of a medieval king or noble
b
: the chief living room in such a structure
2
: the manor house of a landed proprietor
3
: a large usually imposing building for public or semipublic purposes
4
a(1)
: a building used by a college or university for some special purpose
(2)
b
: a college or a division of a college at some universities
c(1)
: the common dining room of an English college
(2)
: a meal served there
5
a
: the entrance room of a building : lobby
b
: a corridor or passage in a building
6
: a large room for assembly : auditorium
7
: a place used for public entertainment

Examples of hall in a Sentence

The bathroom is down the hall. Her office is at the end of the hall. I'll meet you in the front hall. The front door opens onto a large hall. We rented a hall for the wedding reception.
Recent Examples on the Web Areas being considered for the housing are near the fire station just off Jimmy Durante Boulevard, between an exhibition hall and the fairgrounds’ main parking lot. Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2024 Sun King Brewing will open a food hall and taproom at Union Square in downtown Westfield. John Tuohy, The Indianapolis Star, 7 Mar. 2024 To get to Centre Court, players must walk down a long hall lined with photos of Wimbledon’s champions. Abby Aguirre, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2024 On her way out of the hall, Chani gives one of those backward glances to Paul that Zendaya does so frequently in the new movies. Max Evry, WIRED, 4 Mar. 2024 Grab a meal at one of the many food halls around the city. Jessica Poitevien, Travel + Leisure, 4 Mar. 2024 Sunreef is working with port RAK Maritime City on the development and says the first manufacturing and CNC halls already nearing completion. Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 1 Mar. 2024 In between the town hall and the announcement of layoffs last week, Vice employees had simply been waiting in limbo to hear their fate. Chloe Berger, Fortune, 29 Feb. 2024 On the eve of Obamacare’s passage, virtually the entire argument for Obamacare – on TV, on radio, on social media, in the halls of Congress – was that people with pre-existing condition should be able to buy insurance for the same premium healthy people pay. John C. Goodman, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hall.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English halle, from Old English heall; akin to Old High German halla hall, Latin cella small room, celare to conceal — more at hell

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of hall was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near hall

Cite this Entry

“Hall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hall. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hall

noun
1
a
: a large or impressive residence or public building
symphony hall
b
: one of the buildings of a college or university
Science Hall
residence halls
2
a
: the entrance room of a building : lobby
b
: a corridor or passage in a building
3
: a large room for assembly : auditorium
4
: a place used for public entertainment

Biographical Definition

Hall 1 of 6

biographical name (1)

Charles Francis 1821–1871 American arctic explorer

Hall

2 of 6

biographical name (2)

Charles Martin 1863–1914 American chemist and manufacturer

Hall

3 of 6

biographical name (3)

G(ranville) Stanley 1844–1924 American psychologist and educator

Hall

4 of 6

biographical name (4)

James Norman 1887–1951 American novelist

Hall

5 of 6

biographical name (5)

Jeffrey C(onnor) 1945–     American biologist

Hall

6 of 6

biographical name (6)

John L(ewis) 1934–     American physicist

More from Merriam-Webster on hall

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