What does "hall" mean?
A corridor; a hallway.
Hall
/haːl/ name, noun
name, noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A corridor; a hallway.
- Grammar: hall is listed as name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: access, adit, adobe house, agora.
- Useful contrasts: corridor, hallway, open area.
- Usage evidence: The excited audience ran into the concert hall.
How to use "hall"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "hall" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "hall" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "hall" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "hall" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "hall" is acting as name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "access" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "hall", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A corridor; a hallway.
"The drinking fountain was out in the hall."
- 2 Hall class, a class of steam locomotive used on the GWR. UK
- 3 a large entrance or reception room or area wordnet
- 4 A large meeting room.
"The hotel had three halls for conferences, and two were in use by the convention."
- 5 a college or university building containing living quarters for students wordnet
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 A manor house (originally because a magistrate's court was held in the hall of his mansion).
"The duke lived in a great hall overlooking the sea."
- 7 a large building for meetings or entertainment wordnet
- 8 A building providing student accommodation at a university.
"The student government hosted several social events so that students from different halls would intermingle."
- 9 a large room for gatherings, receiving guests, or entertainment wordnet
- 10 The principal room of a secular medieval building.
- 11 a large building used by a college or university for teaching or research wordnet
- 12 Cleared passageway through a crowd, as for dancing. obsolete
"Then cry, a hall, a hall! Come, father Rosin, with your fiddle now."
- 13 an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open wordnet
- 14 A place for special professional education, or for conferring professional degrees or licences.
"a Divinity Hall; Apothecaries' Hall"
- 15 the large room of a manor or castle wordnet
- 16 A living room. India
- 17 a large and imposing house wordnet
- 18 A college's canteen, which is often but not always coterminous with a traditional hall.
- 19 A meal served and eaten at a college's hall.
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.; A British and Scandinavian topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived in or near a hall. countable, uncountable
- 2 A surname.; A surname from German for someone associated with a salt mine. countable, uncountable
- 3 A surname.; An Anglo-Norman surname. countable, uncountable
- 4 A village in Gelderland, Netherlands. countable, uncountable
- 5 A number of places in the United States:; Former name of Las Lomas, a CDP in California. countable, uncountable
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Morgan County, Indiana. countable, uncountable
- 7 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Granite County, Montana. countable, uncountable
- 8 A number of places in the United States:; A hamlet and census-designated place in Ontario County, New York. countable, uncountable
- 9 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Clark County, Washington. countable, uncountable
- 10 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Barbour County, West Virginia. countable, uncountable
- 11 A village in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The excited audience ran into the concert hall."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "hall"?
Common synonyms include: access, adit, adobe house, agora, air lock, amphitheater.
How do you use "hall" in a sentence?
The excited audience ran into the concert hall.
How do you pronounce "hall"?
Pronounced /haːl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English halle (“hall”), from Old English heall (“hall, dwelling, house, palace, temple, law-court”), from Proto-West Germanic *hallu (“hall”), from Proto-Germanic *hallō (“hall”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to hide, conceal”). Cognate with Scots hall, haw (“hall”), Dutch hal (“hall”), German Halle (“hall”), Danish hal (“hall, sports centre”), Faroese høll (“hall, palace”), Icelandic höll (“palace”), Norwegian hall (“hall”), Swedish hall (“hall”), Latin cella (“room, cell”), Sanskrit शाला (śā́lā, “house, mansion, hall”). Doublet of cell and cella.
Etymology 2
* As an English, Scottish, Irish, German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish surname: all from the noun hall. The name was likely reinforced by similar sounding words such as Swedish häll (“rock slab”). * As a Chinese surname, variant Romanization of 何, 賀 /贺 (hè), see He. ** (locomotive): The locomotives were named after English and Welsh country houses with 'Hall' in their titles. ** (British and Scandinavian surnames): From the buildings, halls