seminar

American  

[sem-uh-nahr] / ˈsɛm əˌnɑr /

noun

• seminars
  plural

1. a small group of students, as in a university, engaged in advanced study and original research under a member of the faculty and meeting regularly to exchange information and hold discussions.

2. the gathering place of such a group.

3. a meeting of such a group.

4. a course or subject of study for advanced graduate students.

5. any meeting for exchanging information and holding discussions.

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seminar British  

/ ˈsɛmɪˌnɑː /

noun

1. a small group of students meeting regularly under the guidance of a tutor, professor, etc, to exchange information, discuss theories, etc

2. one such meeting or the place in which it is held

3. a higher course for postgraduates

4. any group or meeting for holding discussions or exchanging information

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• seminars
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of seminar

1885–90, < German < Latin sēminārium seminary

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Explanation

A seminar means a class or meeting, but it carries with it extra weight. An educational seminar indicates a small, advanced study, while a meeting labeled as such means an intense exchange of ideas. The Latin seminarium originally referred to a plant nursery, a place of great growth. From this came the German seminar, referring to a formal educational group led by a professor. While university seminars are most frequently small-group studies of a particular issue, the word is also applied to large lectures and commercial pitches. Like the seminar you attended on how to get rich by selling carrot peelers to your neighbors.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

seminar seminars

While studying management to help his family's textile business, he attended an aviation seminar and caught what he later called the "aviation bug".

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

Anyone who came was welcome to receive an amount appropriate to the size of their household, but the adult representative first had to attend a half-hour seminar covering cooking and money-saving tips.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026

Martine Barons, from Stratford-upon-Avon, said she began lifting weights during lockdown after listening to a seminar that said women going through menopause should run less and lift more.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Driving home together after a writing seminar in the early 1990s, author Carole Glickfeld’s student mentioned that she and her husband were starting an internet bookstore.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

In 1998, one hundred and fifty years after his terrible accident, the town of Cavendish, Vermont, held a medical seminar and festival to honor Phineas Gage.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

At Cowles Commission seminars, Friedman persistently argued that their modeling choices were arbitrary and their complex general equilibrium multiple regression models didn’t generate predictions supported by the evidence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

That soon led to Davis taking a job arranging lectures and seminars and, later, overseeing the organization’s public programming.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

When there was an issue, I scheduled seminars, makeup sessions and phone office hours at different times to supplement the meetings and assignments.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026

"Definitely in seminars I would sometimes feel like my accent would sound a bit less intellectual than other people, especially if I was the only northern student in the classroom."

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

But in seminars they would come and sit by me.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

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Related Words

• convention
• discussion
• forum
• group discussion
• meeting
• round table
• symposium
• workshop

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