Word
quorum
Phoneticsquo·rum, stress on the first syllable
US/ˈkwɔɹəm/
UK/kwˈɔːɹəm/
Definitions
01minimum members for a meeting
C1 · Advanced Countable noun Formal
n. the smallest number of people needed at a meeting to make official decisions.
n. the minimum number of members required for a deliberative body to conduct business and cast valid votes.
“The committee could not vote on the new rules because they did not have a quorum.”
“The chairperson was forced to adjourn the session early as the departure of several members meant the assembly no longer met the required quorum.”
Usage
Usually used with the verbs 'have', 'reach', or 'achieve'.
Synonyms
02distributed systems
C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Computing Technical
n. the minimum number of servers or votes needed in a computer network to finish a task.
n. the minimum number of votes or nodes in a distributed system required to perform a transaction or reach consensus.
“The database update failed because the system could not reach a quorum of servers.”
“In a distributed ledger, achieving a quorum is essential to ensure that all nodes agree on the state of the network before a block is committed.”
Usage
Often used in the context of cloud computing and blockchain technology.
03a select group
C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Literary · Archaic
n. a small, special group of people.
n. a select or distinguished company of people.
“A small quorum of experts gathered to discuss the future of the project.”
“The evening was attended by a quorum of the city's most influential literary figures.”
Teaching tip
This sense is rare in modern English; learners will mostly encounter 'quorum' in legal or business contexts regarding meeting attendance.
Real-World Examples
“The meeting has to take place before 31 December as per reports, after the previous one was adjourned for lack of quorum, but no new date has yet been announced.” “Days after taking office, Trump fired NLRB board member Gwynne Wilcox, leaving the board without a quorum needed to make decisions.” Etymology
Inherited from Middle English quorum (c. 1426), from Anglo-Norman quorum, clipped from the Anglo-Latin wording of commissions in which certain persons were specially designated as members of a body by the words quorum vos unum esse volumus ad etc. (“of whom we want you to be one assigned to etc.”). Latin quōrum is the masculine genitive plural of the relative pronoun quī (“who”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated
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englishreference.com/q/quorum