hall

[ hawl ]

/ hɔl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hall ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a corridor or passageway in a building.

the large entrance room of a house or building; vestibule; lobby.

a large room or building for public gatherings; auditorium: convention hall; concert hall.

a large building for residence, instruction, or other purposes, at a college or university.

a college at a university.

(in English colleges)

a large room in which the members and students dine.
dinner in such a room.

British. a mansion or large residence, especially one on a large estate.

British Informal. music hall.

the chief room in a medieval castle or similar structure, used for eating, sleeping, and entertaining.

the castle, house, or similar structure of a medieval chieftain or noble.

Southeastern U.S.: Older Use. the living room or family room of a house.

Nearby words

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)

Related formssub·hall, noun

Can be confusedhall haul

Hall

[ hawl ]

/ hɔl /

noun

A·saph

[ey-suh f] /ˈeɪ səf/, 1829–1907, U.S. astronomer: discovered the satellites of Mars.

Charles Francis,1821–71, U.S. Arctic explorer.

Charles Martin,1863–1914, U.S. chemist, metallurgist, and manufacturer.

Donald,born 1928, U.S. poet and editor.

Granville Stanley,1846–1924, U.S. psychologist and educator.

James Norman,1887–1951, U.S. novelist.

(Marguerite) Rad·clyffe [rad-klif] /ˈræd klɪf/, 1880–1943, English writer.

Prince,1748–1807, U.S. clergyman and abolitionist, born in Barbados: fought at Bunker Hill.

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

Examples from the Web for hall

One day he and some of his roommates were cleaning their room and one of the guys threw the dustpan out into the hall.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The padlocked door down the hall was now open, and I found my purse.
I Was Gang Raped at a UVA Frat 30 Years Ago, and No One Did Anything|Liz Seccuro|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It will be in a hall, so of course they will have nothing to fear.
French Freak-Out Over Creepy Clowns|Tracy McNicoll|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hall even made it clear that his problem is less with the preferential admissions, but with the lack of transparency.
The University of Texas’s Machiavellian War on Its Regent|David Davis|October 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The big twist is that by requesting those documents, Hall did in fact uncover a nepotism problem plaguing UT admissions.
The University of Texas’s Machiavellian War on Its Regent|David Davis|October 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The door below it was also open, and with the idea that I would surely find some one there, I walked on up the hall.
In the Fog|Richard Harding Davis
In the grandest Tudor houses the entrance-door usually opened directly into this hall.
The Decoration of Houses|Edith Wharton
"Mrs. Hall asked me this morning when the Worthingtons were coming," said Johnnie, one day.
Clover|Susan Coolidge
A messenger was at once dispatched to the hall with a note of apology for their abrupt departure.
Frank Oldfield|T.P. Wilson
Of Bonhag, who came to close the cell door, he asked whether it was going to rain, it looked so dark in the hall.
The Financier|Theodore Dreiser

British Dictionary definitions for hall

hall

/ (hɔːl) /

noun

a room serving as an entry area within a house or building

(sometimes capital) a building for public meetings

(often capital) the great house of an estate; manor

a large building or room used for assemblies, worship, concerts, dances, etc

a residential building, esp in a university; hall of residence

a large room, esp for dining, in a college or university
a meal eaten in this room

the large room of a house, castle, etc

US and Canadian a passage or corridor into which rooms open

(often plural) informal short for music hall

Word Origin for hall

Old English heall; related to Old Norse höll, Old High German halla hall, Latin cela cell 1, Old Irish cuile cellar, Sanskrit śālā hut; see hell

Hall

/ (hɔːl) /

noun

Charles Martin. 1863–1914, US chemist: discovered the electrolytic process for producing aluminium

Sir John. 1824–1907, New Zealand statesman, born in England: prime minister of New Zealand (1879–82)

Sir Peter. born 1930, English stage director: director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (1960–73) and of the National Theatre (1973–88)

(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

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 hall

hall

Old English heall "place covered by a roof, spacious roofed residence, temple, law-court," from Proto-Germanic *khallo "to cover, hide" (cf. Old Saxon, Old High German halla, German halle, Dutch hal, Old Norse höll "hall;" Old English hell, Gothic halja "hell"), from PIE root *kel- "to hide, conceal" (see cell). Sense of "entry, vestibule" evolved 17c., at a time when the doors opened onto the main room of a house. Older sense preserved in town hall, music hall, etc., and in university dormitory names. Hall of fame attested by 1786 as an abstract concept; in sporting sense first attested 1901, in reference to Columbia College.

Medicine definitions for hall

Hall

[ hôl ]

Granville Stanley 1844-1924

American psychologist who established an experimental psychology laboratory at Johns Hopkins University (1882), founded child psychology, and profoundly influenced educational psychology.

hall

noun

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Origin of hall

Hall

noun

Examples from the Web for hall

hall

noun

Word Origin for hall

Hall

noun

hall

Hall