webinar

American  

[web-uh-nahr] / ˈwɛb əˌnɑr /

noun

1. a seminar or other presentation that takes place on the internet, allowing participants in different locations to see and hear the presenter, ask questions, and sometimes answer polls.

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webinar British  

/ ˈwɛbɪˌnɑː /

noun

1. an interactive seminar conducted over the World Wide Web

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Etymology

Origin of webinar

First recorded in 1990–95; Web + (sem)inar

Explanation

A webinar is a class or presentation that takes place online. The advantage of a webinar over an in-person workshop is that anyone in the world can participate. The term webinar, coined in the 1990s, is a portmanteau of web and seminar. While a traditional seminar brings together small groups of students to study and discuss subjects in depth, a webinar attempts the same thing via the web. To attend a webinar, you need a computer (or a smartphone or tablet), and an internet connection. Otherwise, it works much the same way, with opportunities to ask questions give comments, and join discussions.

Example Sentences

More than 300 schools attended an EA webinar on Tuesday to advise them on what steps to take, but the EA said that there was no evidence that teachers' or students' data had been compromised.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

The webinar was offered by the Encore Network, a nonprofit championing people over 50.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 25, 2026

That was the judgment of four veteran correspondents with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz speaking on a subscribers’ webinar last week, and they’re probably right.

From Slate • Nov. 3, 2025

“Most injuries that were recorded and sustained and treated for were for movement-based injury, because people were moving around trying to do things,” McBride said during the webinar.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2025

But in a webinar on Thursday, Dan Wang, a former China technology analyst and research fellow at the Hoover Institution, said he felt China’s move was a risky one.

From Barron's • Oct. 10, 2025