n. 1. A corridor or passageway in a building. 2. A large entrance room or vestibule in a building; a lobby. 3. a. A building for public gatherings or entertainments. b. The large room in which such events are held. 4. A building used for the gatherings and social activities of a church, fraternal order, or other organization. 5. a. A building belonging to a school, college, or university that provides classroom, dormitory, or dining facilities. b. A large room in such a building. c. The group of students using such a building: The entire hall stayed up late studying. d. Chiefly British A meal served in such a building. 6. The main house on a landed estate. 7. a. The castle or house of a medieval monarch or noble. b. The principal room in such a castle or house, used for dining, entertaining, and sleeping. [Middle English halle, large residence, from Old English heall; see kel-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
American explorer who led three expeditions to the Arctic (1860-1862, 1864-1869, and 1871). |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
American writer of poems, essays, stories, and memoirs. He was named US poet laureate in 2006. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
British writer whose novel The Well of Loneliness (1928) was originally banned as obscene in Great Britain and the United States. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
American psychologist who established an experimental psychology laboratory at Johns Hopkins University (1882), founded child psychology, and profoundly influenced educational psychology. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.