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

In Malawi, officials were overjoyed, filling a local town hall and declaring victory. — Ken Silverstein, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026

At town hall meetings, Richmound villagers took turns at the microphone, talking about how their lives had changed. — Zander Sherman, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2026

Public input will also be gathered at town hall meetings and community events. — Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026

Both had introduced a Friday lunchtime town hall — a weekly hour where people could talk through changes coming down the pipeline before and during the transformation. — Owen Fitzpatrick, Fortune, 4 Aug. 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