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

Gonzalez ultimately nominated Henyard to fill the supervisor position in 2022, after five failed votes by trustees to find a replacement as a midnight deadline neared to avoid a town hall meeting. —Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026

Swalwell flatly rejected the claims while speaking to reporters following a town hall at Sacramento’s Scottish Rite Masonic Center. —Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 8 Apr. 2026

Cain says a few voters are still coming in to town hall to verify their signature which could also impact the final tally. —Sarah Horbacewicz, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2026

Commissioner of District 2, Marleine Bastien is hosting a town hall to discuss the issue with constituents on Thursday at the Arcola Lakes Senior Center at 8401 NW 14th Avenue. —Miami Herald, 7 Apr. 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