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

Officials also held 30 conversations with community leaders, 18 discussions with community groups and four town hall meetings in March. —Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 1 June 2026

The Daily Mail published photos of the newlyweds all smiles and hand-in-hand descending town hall steps. —Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026

Courtesy Jared Cooney Horvath Jody Scheer, a retired pediatrician and co-founder of Oregon Unplugged, a parent activist coalition that hosted Horvath for a town hall this spring, said she’s seen parents cite his book at school board meetings. —Tyler Kingkade, NBC news, 31 May 2026

Almost a year after singer Dua Lipa first confirmed her engagement to actor Callum Turner, the couple have tied the knot in a small town hall ceremony in London. —Eve Batey, Vanity Fair, 31 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for town hall

• aldol
• armhole
• atoll
• awol
• backhaul
• banal
• baseball
• befall
• cabal
• catchall
• cecal
• centrale

Kids Definition

town hall

noun

: a public building used for offices and meetings of town government