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round table

/raʊnd ˈteɪbəl/
/raʊnd ˈteɪbəl/
IPA guide

Other forms: round tables

Sir Lancelot sat at a famous round table, but if you’re asked to join one, leave the suit of armor at home. A round table is just a meeting for people to listen to each other’s point of view.

Organizations hold round tables (also roundtables) so people have a chance to talk about something in an equal way, with each person getting a chance to speak. This idea is modeled after King Arthur's mythical Round Table, which is mentioned in the Arthurian legend as a place where all the knights could sit in symbolic equality, with no one at the "head" of the table. The Algonquin Round Table came later and was where writers like Dorothy Parker went to gab.

Definitions of round table
  1. noun
    a meeting of peers for discussion and exchange of views
    see moresee less
    type of:
    conference, group discussion
    a discussion among participants who have an agreed (serious) topic
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