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

Direct appeals to leadership Advocates recently held a town hall in Gabriel’s district. —Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 8 June 2026

Graham Platner is set to take questions from voters Sunday at a town hall-style event in Maine as the Democrat moves to stabilize his Senate campaign after new reports about his past treatment of women. —ABC News, 7 June 2026

The pair headed to the south of France to make things official at a town hall in 2013 before hosting a second wedding for their friends. —Grace Gavilanes, PEOPLE, 6 June 2026

During the gathering, which drew a small crowd of tenants, community members and media representatives, organizers said that a public town hall would likely be held in late May. —Jessica Alvarado Gamez, Denver Post, 3 June 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