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

That was the message Matt Brittin left ringing in the ears of BBC staff when concluding a town hall last month. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2026

City says council meetings provide public forum Roseville officials said an additional town hall is neither necessary nor appropriate for discussing what the city described as a complex issue. — Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026

At noon Thursday, the mayor will host a virtual town hall to explain his plan and hear from residents. — Darius Johnson, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026

Now, last weekend, onto that was grafted what looks like a completely different set of people and preoccupations who, most frighteningly, burned down the Limoges town hall. — Caroline Mimbs Nyce, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 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