Quorum

/ˈkwɔː.ɹəm/ · noun

Meaning

(historical) A select body of (usually eminent) justices of the peace, every member of which had to be present to constitute a deciding body; a member of this body. Later more generally: all justices collectively..

Definitions by Sense

1. (historical) A select body of (usually eminent) justices of the peace, every member of which had to be present to constitute a deciding body; a member of this body. Later more generally: all justices collectively.
2. The minimum number of members required for a group to officially conduct business and to cast votes, often but not necessarily a majority or supermajority.
3. (now rare) Distinguished or essential members of any body; a select company.
4. (computing, distributed systems) The minimum number of votes that a distributed transaction has to obtain in order to be allowed to perform an operation in a distributed system.

Example Sentences

We can discuss the issue tonight but cannot vote until we have a quorum.

Texas House Democrats’ historic quorum break unexpectedly ended Thursday evening when at least three new Democrats returned to the floor, paving the way for state Republicans to pass restrictive voting legislation. The surprise turn of events quickly led to public accusations of betrayal among Democrats, as the House now has the required two-thirds of members necessary for a quorum.

They may not be using the same sort of hard-charging tactics we saw in the first Trump administration, when they would deny Republicans quorums for votes in committee or those kinds of things, but what we will see is they’re going to ask hard questions and make made-for-TV moments.

Synonyms for quorum

Antonyms for quorum

Related Words

Word Forms

• quorums
• quora
• qorum
• qworum
• quoram
• corum

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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