seminar
Americannoun
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a small group of students, as in a university, engaged in advanced study and original research under a member of the faculty and meeting regularly to exchange information and hold discussions.
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the gathering place of such a group.
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a meeting of such a group.
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a course or subject of study for advanced graduate students.
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any meeting for exchanging information and holding discussions.
noun
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a small group of students meeting regularly under the guidance of a tutor, professor, etc, to exchange information, discuss theories, etc
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one such meeting or the place in which it is held
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a higher course for postgraduates
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any group or meeting for holding discussions or exchanging information
Etymology
Origin of seminar
1885–90, < German < Latin sēminārium seminary
Explanation
A seminar means a class or meeting, but it carries with it extra weight. An educational seminar indicates a small, advanced study, while a meeting labeled as such means an intense exchange of ideas. The Latin seminarium originally referred to a plant nursery, a place of great growth. From this came the German seminar, referring to a formal educational group led by a professor. While university seminars are most frequently small-group studies of a particular issue, the word is also applied to large lectures and commercial pitches. Like the seminar you attended on how to get rich by selling carrot peelers to your neighbors.
Vocabulary lists containing seminar
The Vocabulary of College
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UCPS 6th Grade Roots List #4
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: semi-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Then came a seminar on citrus black spot, another recent arrival.
From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026
Some book clubs sip stoic glasses of water, like they’re in a graduate school seminar, waiting for me to begin.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
The FBI didn’t immediately respond to a request for more information, including the cost of the two-day seminar in Quantico, Va., and who, if anyone, would pay.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
Current and former UFC fighters will visit the FBI Special Agent Academy in Quantico, Virginia, this weekend for a "training seminar" for senior FBI staff and students.
From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026
Indeed, at the seminar at which they announced their discovery, I remember that they called the first four sources to be found LGM 1—4, LGM standing for “Little Green Men.”
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
