forum

[ fawr-uhm ]

noun

, plural fo·rums, fo·ra [fawr, -, uh].

1. the marketplace or public square of an ancient Roman city, the center of judicial and business affairs and a place of assembly for the people.
2. a court or tribunal:

   the forum of public opinion.

3. an assembly, meeting place, television program, etc., for the discussion of questions of public interest.
4. Also called online forum,. message board.
5. the Forum, the forum in the ancient city of Rome.

Forum

¹

/ rəʊˈmɑːnəm /

noun

1. the Forum
   the main forum of ancient Rome, situated between the Capitoline and the Palatine Hills

forum

²

/ ˈfɔːrəm /

noun

1. a meeting or assembly for the open discussion of subjects of public interest
2. a medium for open discussion, such as a magazine
3. a public meeting place for open discussion
4. a court; tribunal
5. (in South Africa) a pressure group of leaders or representatives, esp Black leaders or representatives
6. (in ancient Italy) an open space, usually rectangular in shape, serving as a city's marketplace and centre of public business

Word History and Origins

Origin of forum¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Latin: “marketplace, public place,” akin to forīs, forās “outside,” foris door

Word History and Origins

Origin of forum¹

C15: from Latin: public place; related to Latin foris outside

Example Sentences

On Monday, new Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that he had told a forum of Israel generals that “there will be no ceasefire” until Hezbollah could no longer carry out such attacks.

From BBC

He repeated the pledge at a National Association of Black Journalists forum in Chicago in July.

From BBC

The pizza toppings at mayoral forums have been chosen with RCV, as has the gourmet ice cream at other forums provided by the local favorite Jeni’s.

From Salon

At the candidates’ forum at Fremont High, school board candidates took notice of their newest constituency.

From Los Angeles Times

Ahead of Jones’ appearance at the forum, there was a panel with four other candidates — two Republicans and two Democrats running for state legislative positions.

From Salon

Related Words

• conference
• convention
• gathering
• seminar
• symposium

What Is The Plural Of Forum?

Plural word for forum

The plural form of forum can be either forums or fora. Forums is more widely used. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -um are formed in this way, including gum/gums, possum/possums, or geranium/geraniums. 

Irregular plurals that are formed like fora, such as curriculum/curricula and memorandum/memoranda, derive directly from their original pluralization in Latin. However, the standard English plural -s ending is often also acceptable for these terms, as in curriculums and memorandums.