agora

¹ American  

[ag-er-uh] / ˈæg ər ə /

noun

plural

agorae

1. a popular political assembly.

2. the place where such an assembly met, originally a marketplace or public square.

3. the Agora, the chief marketplace of Athens, center of the city's civic life.

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agora ² American  

[ah-gawr-uh, -gohr-uh, ah-gaw-rah] / ɑˈgɔr ə, -ˈgoʊr ə, ɑ gɔˈrɑ /

Sephardic Hebrew agura

noun

plural

agorot

1. an aluminum coin and monetary unit of Israel, one 100th of a shekel: replaced the prutah as the fractional unit in 1960.

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agora ¹ British  

/ ˈæɡərə /

noun

1. (often capital)

   1. the marketplace in Athens, used for popular meetings, or any similar place of assembly in ancient Greece

   2. the meeting itself

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agora ² British  

/ ˌæɡəˈrɑː /

noun

1. an Israeli monetary unit worth one hundredth of a shekel

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Etymology

Origin of agora¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Greek agorā́ “assembly (of the common people, not the nobility), marketplace,” derivative of ageírein “to gather together”

Origin of agora²

First recorded in 1960–65; from Hebrew ăgōrāh “coin, payment,” from āgār “to hire”

Explanation

In ancient Greek city-states, an agora was an important meeting place. The agora was used as a market, but it was also the primary location for gathering with friends, discussing politics, and observing religious ceremonies. The agora of ancient Athens is often credited as the birthplace of democracy, since it was where philosophers first debated and discussed those concepts. Like agoras in other parts of Greece, it was the center of Athenian life. It served as the city-state's main marketplace, courtroom, polling place, and location for business meetings. The Greek agora means "an assembly of the people," from a root meaning "to gather."

Example Sentences

The futuristic Grecian agora, which opened in 2022, was beyond anything they’d built before — similar to Red Rocks in Colorado or Forest Hills Stadium in New York.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2026

It’s a lovely image: Kirk as a modern-day Socrates, wandering the agora of America’s universities seeking to find truth by means of rhetorical contest.

From Salon • Sep. 17, 2025

The report is the initial phase of an ambitious effort to map the modern agora, referring to the lively assembly places of ancient Greece often considered to be the birthplace of democracy.

From Science Daily • Nov. 13, 2023

Tive uma reunião por vídeo agora com o presidente da Ucrânia, @ZelenskyyUa.

From Washington Post • Apr. 13, 2023

That the Bucoleum must be on the agora, and that the marriage took place in Limnaean-Lenaean territory, have long been accepted.

From The American Journal of Archaeology, 1893-1 by Various

Related Words

• arcade
• bazaar
• flea market
• mall
• plaza
• shopping mall