A quorum is the minimum number of people who must be present at a meeting before the group can officially make decisions or conduct business. Think of it like this: your student council might have 15 members, but the rules say at least 8 must show up before you can vote on spending the activity fund. Those 8 people are the quorum.

The word comes from the way organizations prevent a tiny handful of people from making major decisions when most members are absent. Without a quorum rule, two students could show up early to a club meeting and vote to spend all the club's money before anyone else arrives. The quorum requirement protects against this by saying, “We need enough people here to represent the whole group fairly.”

Different organizations set different quorums depending on what makes sense. A small committee might need everyone present, while the U.S. Senate needs 51 senators (a simple majority) for a quorum. When a meeting doesn't have enough people to make a quorum, the members present can discuss issues and share ideas, but they can't take official votes or make binding decisions. They're said to lack a quorum.