meeting house

American  

[mee-ting hous] / ˈmi tɪŋ ˌhaʊs /

Or meeting-house,

noun

1. a house or other building for communal gathering, especially a place of Protestant worship. Common in Colonial America for both public business and religious worship, a meeting house today is usually a place of worship for Quakers, Mennonites, Mormons, or certain other nonconformist denominations.

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meeting house British  

noun

1. the place in which certain religious groups, esp Quakers, hold their meetings for worship

2. Also called: wharepuni.  a large Māori tribal hall

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Etymology

Origin of meeting house

First recorded in 1625–35

Example Sentences

For months, activists have been demanding more support from city leadership, explained Elias Siegelman, an activist who works with No ICE Philly, which meets in the quintessentially Pennsylvanian location of a Quaker meeting house.

From Salon • Jan. 28, 2026

The meeting house grows progressively more dilapidated, and the costumes get shabbier, indicating that things aren’t going well for the Puritans.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

The chimney was located atop a former Boy Scouts meeting house currently used as public works department storage, according to Salcedo.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2025

The arrest of six Youth Demand supporters at a Quaker meeting house has been condemned by the faith group as an "aggressive violation".

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2025

She didn’t recognize the Declaration of Independence the day she joined them in the meeting house.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Related Words

• gathering place