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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

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)

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

The back doors to the main sanctuary would be open, and the banquet hall behind it would be filled with seats, going all the way up to the stage at the end of the room.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

First came the whippet who lives down the hall, galloping outside my apartment and then, as he often does, failing to account for the slickness of the linoleum.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

Navantia has already made substantial investments in Belfast, including an expansion to the fabrication hall and installing plasma cutting equipment.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Early this spring, a town hall was held at an elementary school at Point Reyes Station.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

I ducked round them into the hall and stood a moment, stomach knotting with the sight I had seen.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Watch the Corona Centennial staff, because someone there is going to one day succeed future Hall of Famer Matt Logan.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Last week, more than 200 people gathered at Coleraine Town Hall to call on the health minister to stop EGS being moved to Antrim Area Hospital.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

For Lees-Jones at the Founder’s Hall, the new prime minister is at least moving in the right direction—with the credentials to back up his plans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Ogwumike, a future Hall of Famer, was the Sparks’ free-agent splash this offseason after she spent her last two seasons in Seattle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

“Redemption arcs are for heroes,” Zeke said, “not Hall Monitors.”

From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness

As a commuter student in Nottingham, Grace Morrell was also worried about how she'd meet people, when others were making friends through their halls and student flats.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Expanded student unions, more-comfortable residence halls, larger recreation centers, campus programming offices and improved dining choices became the norm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

As a single mother and service-industry worker, Hong carries relatable and valuable lived experience that is often missing from the halls of state and federal government.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

These are questions at town halls, at events, as you call representatives.

From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026

I’d grown up at the Academy, running the halls since I was in diapers, and even then I’d been Cadet Fitz.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

• amphitheater
• arena
• auditorium
• ballroom
• chamber
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• gymnasium
• lounge
• theater