quorum
- 01 C1 Advanced
the smallest number of people needed at a meeting to make official decisions.
the minimum number of members required for a deliberative body to conduct business and cast valid votes.
Simple“The committee could not vote on the new rules because they did not have a quorum.”
In context“The chairperson was forced to adjourn the session early as the departure of several members meant the assembly no longer met the required quorum.”
UsageUsually used with the verbs 'have', 'reach', or 'achieve'.
Synonyms - 02 C2 Proficiency
the minimum number of servers or votes needed in a computer network to finish a task.
the minimum number of votes or nodes in a distributed system required to perform a transaction or reach consensus.
Simple“The database update failed because the system could not reach a quorum of servers.”
In context“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.”
UsageOften used in the context of cloud computing and blockchain technology.
- 03 C2 Proficiency
a small, special group of people.
a select or distinguished company of people.
Simple“A small quorum of experts gathered to discuss the future of the project.”
In context“The evening was attended by a quorum of the city's most influential literary figures.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is rare in modern English; learners will mostly encounter 'quorum' in legal or business contexts regarding meeting attendance.
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.