session

1 of 2

noun

ses·​sion ˈse-shən How to pronounce session (audio)
1
: a meeting or series of meetings of a body (such as a court or legislature) for the transaction of business
morning session
2
sessions ˈse-shənz How to pronounce session (audio) plural
a(1)
: a sitting of English justices of peace in execution of the powers conferred by their commissions
(2)
: an English court holding such sessions
b
: any of various courts similar to the English sessions
3
: the period between the first meeting of a legislative or judicial body and the prorogation or final adjournment
4
: the ruling body of a Presbyterian congregation consisting of the elders in active service
5
: the period during the year or day in which a school conducts classes
6
: a meeting or period devoted to a particular activity
a recording session
sessional adjective

session

2 of 2

adjective

1
: employed to perform at recording sessions
a session drummer
2
: having a light body and a lower-than-average percentage of alcohol : sessionable
a session cider
… the increasing popularity of session beers [=sessionable and flavorful beers], which fulfill beer's original promise of being a less potent drink that can be safely enjoyed in greater volume than wine and spirits.Will Gordon
It is cleaner, smoother and more flavorful than the typical American lager. It's more of a session beer than other … choices, too, at 5.3 percent ABVSteve Goble
A session beer should be light and without aggressive flavors, but still flavorful enough to keep your interest.Michael Agnew
Citrus and grapefruit hit you in this very hazy, low-alcohol ale that has a lingering finish. A very good session ale.Marc Bona

Examples of session in a Sentence

Noun Her health insurance will cover 12 one-hour sessions of therapy per year. the U.N. Special Session on Disarmament I'm going to take classes during the summer session.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
In addition to running his Instagram, Mittal plays Indian psychedelic and funk music on NTS Radio and at festivals like Magnetic Fields, hosts listening sessions across India, and is one of the frontrunners of the recent vinyl resurgence in his home city of New Delhi. Vrinda Jagota, SPIN, 7 Mar. 2024 There’s a lot to unpack in the new horror film from Blumhouse, which seems designed to provide fodder for family therapy sessions throughout the country. Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024 The Israeli delegation has not attended the sessions in Cairo because of Hamas’s new demands. Julian E. Barnes, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2024 Members of the medical team are required to attend at least 10 training sessions each year, although officials have the ability to revise that number. Bill Chappell, NPR, 6 Mar. 2024 Training sessions also require astronaut candidates to travel extensively. Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2024 Such is the stark fallout from the Feb. 16 court ruling, which came in the second week of Alabama’s 2024 legislative session. Tim Craig, Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2024 Rather than trying to schedule and coordinate explicit cross-training sessions, expand access to training courses and aim to make communication with training leaders seamless to scale education organization-wide. Jerry Dolinsky, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024 Follow the 2024 Indiana General Assembly Our legislative team will continue covering this year's legislative session. Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, 23 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Among the ways the service seeks to put kids at ease is a pre-session questionnaire for parents that asks things like the pronunciation of the child’s name, whether a letter to Santa has already been mailed and questions related to the child’s understanding of the pandemic. Tony Bravo, SFChronicle.com, 10 Dec. 2020 Coalition members will get more detail on budget problems at their pre-session retreat, which was to start later Thursday, said Bishop, a Fairbanks Republican. Yereth Rosen, Anchorage Daily News, 7 Jan. 2023 The pre-session email also asked students about pregnancy, blood pressure issues or heart irregularities. Tree Meinch, Discover Magazine, 30 Aug. 2021 Yet when that strike ended a year later as the longest acting strike in US history, the union gave in on its demand for residuals, agreeing instead to a system of one-time bonuses for multi-session work and extra payments for vocally stressful work. Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 19 Oct. 2022 Every industry needs its own unique curriculum for multi-session implicit bias professional learning experiences. Shaun Harper, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022 The series gives us some of the most impressive visuals, direction, and performances in the MCU, but Moon Knight is begging for a format shift in the form of either a minimum of 10 episodes or a multi-session plan from the onset. Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 May 2022 And during a post-session press briefing with reporters, Gov. Kate Brown also lauded the outgoing Senate President. oregonlive, 4 Mar. 2022 They’re usually assigned to the few committees that don’t have mid-session deadlines to advance legislation, so they generally are considered still alive right up until the final gavel falls. oregonlive, 26 Apr. 2021

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

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin session-, sessio, literally, act of sitting, from sedēre to sit — more at sit

Adjective

from attributive use of session entry 1; (sense 2) so called because the relatively low alcohol content in such drinks makes it possible to consume several rounds at a sitting without becoming intoxicated

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1958, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of session was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near session

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

session

noun
ses·​sion
ˈsesh-ən
1
: a meeting or series of meetings of a body (as a court or legislature) for the carrying on of business
2
: the period between the first meeting of a legislative or judicial body and the last meeting
3
: the period during the year or day in which a school has classes

Legal Definition

session

noun
ses·​sion
: a meeting or series of meetings of a body (as a court or legislature) for the transaction of business
also : the period between the first meeting of a legislative or judicial body and the final adjournment see also regular session, special session
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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