forum

[fawr-uh m, fohr-uh m]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR forum ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural fo·rums, fo·ra [fawr-uh, fohr-uh] /ˈfɔr ə, ˈfoʊr ə/.

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, Internet forum, Web forum. message board.

the Forum, the forum in the ancient city of Rome.

Origin of forum

1425–75; late Middle English < Latin: marketplace, public place, akin to forīs, forās outside, foris door

Can be confusedform forum (see synonym study at form)

message board

noun

a website or section of a website that is used for public discussion of a specific topic and on which users can submit or read messages: You should post your questions on a parenting message board and get support from other parents.

an online discussion group that is maintained on such a website: To participate in the message board, you must be a registered user.

Also called discussion board, forum.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for forum

conference, symposium, gathering, seminar, convention, framework, agency, venue, mechanism, assembly, conclave, congress, convocation, congregation, colloquium, council, rally, medium, apparatus, means

Examples from the Web for forum

Contemporary Examples of forum

After his death, Jackson tried to speak up for her friend on a Facebook forum.
Alleged Cop Killer’s Blood-Soaked Screenplay
M.L. Nestel
December 24, 2014
This is a forum for the voices defining the global struggle for justice.
Quorum: Global LGBT Voices
December 10, 2014
Chris Brown announced onstage at The Forum in Los Angeles on Friday night.
The Chris Brown vs. Drake Feud Continues: Brown Claims Ex GF Karrueche Tran Cheated with Drizzy
Marlow Stern
December 7, 2014
There were a number of people who could have convened a forum of Charter 77, or meetings with other, smaller opposition groups.
How Havel Inspired the Velvet Revolution
Michael Zantovsky
December 6, 2014
These posts are still available in archives that are only viewable to privileged members of the forum.
School Shooters Love This Pickup Artist Website
Brandy Zadrozny
December 5, 2014

Historical Examples of forum

The three stones were set up to keep chariots out of the forum.
Buried Cities: Pompeii, Olympia, Mycenae
Jennie Hall
It is the modern substitute for the forum of the old Roman town.
The Farmer and His Community
Dwight Sanderson
This forum of the people was shaded by a sextette of well-grown elms.
The Strollers
Frederic S. Isham
Forum, the place of general assembly in a Roman city, as the Agora was in a Greek.
Architecture
Thomas Roger Smith
"Thou shalt burn in the Forum for this," spluttered the Judge.
Dreamers of the Ghetto
I. Zangwill

British Dictionary definitions for forum

forum

noun plural -rums or -ra (-rə)

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

Word Origin for forum

C15: from Latin: public place; related to Latin foris outside

Forum

Forum Romanum

noun

the Forum the main forum of ancient Rome, situated between the Capitoline and the Palatine Hills

message board

noun

an internet discussion forum

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for forum

mid-15c., "place of assembly in ancient Rome," from Latin forum "marketplace, open space, public place," apparently akin to foris, foras "out of doors, outside," from PIE root *dhwer- (see door). Sense of "assembly, place for public discussion" first recorded 1680s.