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

Etymology

Origin of seminar

1885–90, < German < Latin sēminārium seminary

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

A senior judge of China’s Supreme People’s Court participated in an March 2023 online seminar sponsored by a U.S. environmental-law group and used the platform to talk up Xi Jinping’s climate-change policies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Schiller attends an informational seminar by a broker for Medicare Advantage plans and decides, unhelpfully, that they are neither “a solution or a problem.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

Beyond a purely aesthetic consideration, the exhibition is an engrossing seminar on every aspect of tarot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

You could hire a financial adviser to give all of you a seminar about managing money, or you could pay for counseling for your brother and nephew.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026

“I hope there won’t be war, but the seminar has been quite useful, hasn’t it.”

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Some of these seminars promise attractive rewards like a “guaranteed” monthly income, Finra adds, and may suggest that successful or knowledgeable people have already invested, creating pressure to follow the crowd.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

Stalls offering high-tech sperm testing kits sat alongside more established services such as egg freezing and pregnancy supplements, while seminars focused on sperm quality and the latest treatment options for men.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

It hosts the five daily prayers, a Friday prayer and sermon and educational talks and seminars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026

Also, a 2021 study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research documented hostile environments in economics seminars, with female presenters experiencing more interruptions and encountering more patronizing behavior.

From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2026

Ekman actually runs seminars for law-enforcement agencies in which he teaches people how to improve their mind-reading skills.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

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