forum

noun

fo·​rum ˈfȯr-əm How to pronounce forum (audio)
plural forums also fora ˈfȯr-ə How to pronounce forum (audio)
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

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 Notices had started to pop up on TikTok; Facebook forums were advising people which beauty salons to attend, and suspicious websites were promising stock. Ashleigh Furlong, Fortune Europe, 13 Mar. 2024 The forum is a nonpartisan, independent policy research organization. Rory Linnane, Journal Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2024 For the second year running, forum attendance was light. Richard Halstead, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 The Sideways star instead offered his illustrious peers a forum to chop it up for an hour or so about subjects that rarely come up during press junkets. Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2024 That’s a big difference from forums like Reddit, where moderators approve posts before they’re shared more widely. Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024 The nearly two-decade-old pitching forum unspools against a radically different backdrop for docmakers from Southeast Europe. Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024 The other candidates at the forum were Steven Seuferer, Andrew Wildman, Marcellus Crews, and Robert Houton. Erin Cox, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2024 Three candidates for director of the School of Art in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences will make presentations at forums that start his week. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, arkansasonline.com, 2 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'forum.' 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

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

First Known Use

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

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

Dictionary Entries Near forum

Cite this Entry

“Forum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forum. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

forum

noun
fo·​rum ˈfōr-əm How to pronounce forum (audio)
ˈfȯr-
plural forums also fora -ə How to pronounce forum (audio)
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 How to pronounce forum (audio)
1
2
a
: a judicial body or assembly : court
allowed the defendant in a state court action to choose the federal forum by removing the caseM. 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 exercisedNational Law Journal

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