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• hall
  hall

  noun

  a corridor or passageway in a building.
• Hall
  Hall

  noun

  Asaph 1829–1907, U.S. astronomer: discovered the satellites of Mars.

hall

¹ American  

[hawl] / hɔl /

noun

• halls
  plural

1. a corridor or passageway in a building.

2. the large entrance room of a house or building; vestibule; lobby.

3. a large room or building for public gatherings; auditorium.

   convention hall; concert hall.

4. a large building for residence, instruction, or other purposes, at a college or university.

5. a college at a university.

6. (in English colleges)

   1. a large room in which the members and students dine.

   2. dinner in such a room.

7. British. a mansion or large residence, especially one on a large estate.

8. British Informal. music hall.

9. the chief room in a medieval castle or similar structure, used for eating, sleeping, and entertaining.

10. the castle, house, or similar structure of a medieval chieftain or noble.

11. Southeastern U.S.: Older Use. the living room or family room of a house.

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Hall ² American  

[hawl] / hɔl /

noun

1. Asaph 1829–1907, U.S. astronomer: discovered the satellites of Mars.

2. Charles Francis, 1821–71, U.S. Arctic explorer.

3. Charles Martin, 1863–1914, U.S. chemist, metallurgist, and manufacturer.

4. Donald, 1928–2018, U.S. poet and editor.

5. Granville Stanley, 1846–1924, U.S. psychologist and educator.

6. James Norman, 1887–1951, U.S. novelist.

7. (Marguerite) Radclyffe 1880–1943, English writer.

8. Prince, 1748?–1807, U.S. clergyman and abolitionist, born in Barbados: may have fought at Bunker Hill.

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hall ¹ British  

/ hɔːl /

noun

1. a room serving as an entry area within a house or building

2. (sometimes capital) a building for public meetings

3. (often capital) the great house of an estate; manor

4. a large building or room used for assemblies, worship, concerts, dances, etc

5. a residential building, esp in a university; hall of residence

6. 1. a large room, esp for dining, in a college or university

   2. a meal eaten in this room

7. the large room of a house, castle, etc

8. a passage or corridor into which rooms open

9. informal (often plural) short for music hall

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Hall ² British  

/ hɔːl /

noun

1. Charles Martin. 1863–1914, US chemist: discovered the electrolytic process for producing aluminium

2. Sir John. 1824–1907, New Zealand statesman, born in England: prime minister of New Zealand (1879–82)

3. Sir Peter. born 1930, English stage director: director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (1960–73) and of the National Theatre (1973–88)

4. ( Margueritte ) Radclyffe . 1883–1943, British novelist and poet. Her frank treatment of a lesbian theme in the novel The Well of Loneliness (1928) led to an obscenity trial

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subhall
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• halls
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of hall

before 900; Middle English; Old English heall; cognate with Old Norse hǫll, German Halle; akin to Old English helan to cover, hide, Latin cēlāre to hide ( see conceal)

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Explanation

A hall is the space in a house or building that leads to individual rooms. Some homes are organized with several bedrooms leading off one long hall. Your house might have a front hall just inside the main door, or if you live in an apartment building, your door might be at the end of a hall on the fourth floor. Another kind of hall is a large room meant for holding events, like a village hall, exhibition hall, or lecture hall. College campuses often include many halls — these are commonly dormitory buildings, which include hall in their names.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hall Hall halls

Protesters broke into the town hall of France's second-largest city of Marseille before being forced out by police.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

For those with financial means, it was a kind of gilded servitude, in which the young sacrificed their waking lives to teachers who primed them for the concert hall.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

And the first marked Carnegie’s opening concert of the season—the fourth time this orchestra was afforded that honor since 1955, when it first appeared at the hall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

“I’m nervous,” said Faith Woodland, a voter who attended a town hall event focused on abortion that Jackson’s campaign held in the seaside town of Bath.

From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026

If only he couldn’t hear Brie’s class down the hall, I could be an excellent babysitter.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

The son of Marvin Harrison Sr., a Hall of Fame pass catcher for the Indianapolis Colts during Peyton Manning’s heyday, he was a two-time All-American with all the traits that coaches love.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

His nephew is Harvey Kitani, a future City Section Hall of Fame basketball coach who was at Fairfax and now Rolling Hills Prep.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Among their teammates at college was Dawn Staley, the Hall of Famer and Olympian who coaches the University of South Carolina.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Dr Hall says there could be a myriad of reasons why your child hasn't been invited.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

On my way to Mrs. Zamick’s, I pass through what has to be the Chumley Prep Hall of Fame.

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

Some inmates at two halls in Barlinnie in Glasgow first experienced problems on Thursday night and had no access to bottled water.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

How Steve Ballmer, the richest owner in sports, was caught dead to rights by a humble podcaster, and what lessons the media and public can take from courtside seats to the halls of power.

From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2026

Japanese acoustical engineer Yasuhisa Toyota will serve as the hall’s acoustician, as he has for all of Gehry’s concert halls, beginning with Disney Hall.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

But even as Lean was establishing its worth, another revolution was taking place outside the halls of academia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Lady Bird Johnson knew the stress was reaching new heights when the president began pacing the White House halls at night.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

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