venue

American  

[ven-yoo] / ˈvɛn ju /

noun

• venues
  plural

1. Law.

   1. the place of a crime or cause of action.

   2. the county or place where the jury is gathered and the cause tried.

   3. the designation, in the pleading, of the jurisdiction where a trial will be held.

   4. the statement naming the place and person before whom an affidavit was sworn.

2. the scene or locale of any action or event.

3. the position taken by a person engaged in argument or debate; ground.

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venue British  

/ ˈvɛnjuː /

noun

1. law

   1. the place in which a cause of action arises

   2. the place fixed for the trial of a cause

   3. the locality from which the jurors must be summoned to try a particular cause

2. a meeting place

3. any place where an organized gathering, such as a rock concert or public meeting, is held

4. a position in an argument

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• venues
  plural

Etymology

Origin of venue

1300–50; Middle English venue an attack < Middle French: literally, a coming, Old French, feminine past participle of venir to come < Vulgar Latin *venūta, for Latin venta, equivalent to ven ( īre ) to come + -ta feminine past participle suffix

Explanation

A venue is the place where an event or meeting is happening. If you're going to see the best band ever, you should get to the venue early to get a good seat. Venue is derived from the Latin for "come" (venire), and it's a place people come to. Another meaning of venue is specific to the law as the place where a trial will be held, and the area from which the jury will be selected. If you're on trial for stealing, and you're known around town as "Sticky Fingers Magoo," your lawyer would wisely request a change of venue to give you a better shot at a fair trial.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

venue venues

Shein had previously considered the U.S. and London as potential venue listings, before settling on Hong Kong.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

The following year, the fest was moved to September, but Hurricane Ida forced promoters to cancel after heavy rain turned the Farm — the festival’s venue — into a muddy mess.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Philip Simon was due to perform his stand-up show at the Banshee Labyrinth on Niddry Street, but the venue scrapped it at short notice after it carried out "routine" checks on his social media.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Simon pursued legal action and on Monday his lawyer David Welsh told a court hearing that the venue had conceded it had acted unlawfully.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Mum says she won't let the dining table be used as a venue for “adolescent discontent.”

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

The six-page term sheet, signed by Rapino and Assefi, said Live Nation would end 13 exclusive booking agreements at venues.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

Last month, Andy Burnham announced a 20% cut in business rates for pubs, social clubs and live music venues in England, to come into effect in April.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

The draft plan, which largely applies to new venues, seeks to “reduce the extent of or remove opportunities for vertical drinking.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

It has been noticeable at certain venues that the loyalty to previous franchises has had a slightly complicated transition.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

And more than that, there must be a massive surrounding sports complex to provide venues for a wide variety of competitions, a single, unified Reichssportfeld.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Related Words

• locale
• place
• setting
• site