the marketplace or public square of an ancient Roman city, the center of judicial and business affairs and a place of assembly for the people.
a court or tribunal.
the forum of public opinion.
an assembly, meeting place, television program, etc., for the discussion of questions of public interest.
Also called online forum,. Also called internet forum,. Also called web forum. message board.
the Forum, the forum in the ancient city of Rome.
a meeting or assembly for the open discussion of subjects of public interest
a medium for open discussion, such as a magazine
a public meeting place for open discussion
a court; tribunal
(in South Africa) a pressure group of leaders or representatives, esp Black leaders or representatives
(in ancient Italy) an open space, usually rectangular in shape, serving as a city's marketplace and centre of public business
Plural word for forum The plural form of forum can be either forums or fora. Forums is more widely used. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -um are formed in this way, including gum/gums, possum/possums, or geranium/geraniums. Irregular plurals that are formed like fora, such as curriculum/curricula and memorandum/memoranda, derive directly from their original pluralization in Latin. However, the standard English plural -s ending is often also acceptable for these terms, as in curriculums and memorandums.
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Latin: “marketplace, public place,” akin to forīs, forās “outside,” foris door
A forum is a public discussion. It can refer to a meeting, a meeting house or any conversation that is available publicly. There were forums — large public gathering places — in Ancient Rome; they can still be found across the globe. Traditionally, newspapers were thought of as forums for public discussions but more and more forums are virtual — discussion boards found online. Communities, however, still hold their own forums, or meetings, usually to discuss local issues. When you see the word forum, think public conversation.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The incident at Scarborough Shoal, which took place during an attempt to resupply Filipino fishermen, came as top diplomats wrapped up a Southeast Asian regional forum in Manila.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
But it accepted people would still be able to access the forum by using a VPN, which hides your location online.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Reddit is a popular forum for swapping tips on how to boost disability ratings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
The regulator says it has reached the limit of what it can legally do under the Online Safety Act because the forum has implemented the geoblock.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
She wasn’t going to allow him to take over the forum.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
“There are no American bases in Jordan. We have American troops that are in Jordan as part of our long-standing military cooperation,” he said at the Aspen Security Forum earlier this month.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Scottish Wildlife Forum has issued a warning, external for central Highlands, southern and eastern Scotland from Wednesday, lasting until next Monday.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
China's Pacific envoy had days earlier met with the Pacific Islands Forum, after Beijing donated $1 million to the regional bloc, but made no mention of a looming test.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
The update follows comments by President Christine Lagarde, who at the ECB Forum in Sintra, Portugal last week defended the central bank’s decision to raise interest rates in June.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
And then there was a knock on the door and the Dell Duke Internal Idiotic Discussion Forum was interrupted by the voice of Pattie Nguyen.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
"The Pacific Island countries are constantly bearing the burden of coming to other fora and trying to get their voice heard."
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
These included potential fora tax free allowance, holiday activity provider vouchers and working with employers to co-fund support.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2025
"International NGOs and intergovernmental organizations could also play an important role in the synthesis and dissemination of new research, making sure it contributes to debates at international fora such as the climate and biodiversity COPs."
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2023
In that case, the consultant predicted, the EU would briefly voice displeasure in global fora, but would not sanction South Korea.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 3, 2023
She holds my arm fora few seconds, and then releases me.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
Put aside the broader question of whether predictions markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are simply dressed-up gambling forums that are already illegal under many states’ anti-gaming laws.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
He’s sought investors in a variety of forums, including a webinar called “Discover the Investment Model Behind Our State-Funded Private Schools — with Mike Tyson.”
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
I see the same thing happening on social-media forums, subreddits, Facebook groups and the like.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
"Sovereignty is defended in international forums through diplomacy, historical truth and the peaceful, non-negotiable claim enshrined in our national constitution," the 2 April War Veterans Federation said in a statement.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
They’d met on the forums and decided to room together for the month and a half.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
