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conference

American  
[kon-fer-uhns, -fruhns] / ˈkɒn fər əns, -frəns /

noun

  1. a meeting for consultation or discussion.

    a conference between a student and his adviser.
    Synonyms:
    colloquium, parley

  2. the act of conferring or consulting together; consultation, especially on an important or serious matter.

  3. Government. a meeting, as of various committees, to settle disagreements between the two branches of the legislature.

  4. an association of athletic teams; league.

    an intercollegiate conference.

  5. Ecclesiastical.

    1. an official assembly of clergy or of clergy and laity, customary in many Christian denominations.

    2. a group of churches whose representatives regularly meet in such an assembly.

verb (used without object)

conferenced, conferencing

  1. to hold or participate in a conference or series of conferences.

conference British  
/ ˈkɒnfərəns, -frəns, ˌkɒnfəˈrɛnʃəl /

noun

  1. a meeting for consultation, exchange of information, or discussion, esp one with a formal agenda

  2. a formal meeting of two or more states, political groups, etc, esp to discuss differences or formulate common policy

  3. an assembly of the clergy or of clergy and laity of any of certain Protestant Christian Churches acting as representatives of their denomination

    the Methodist conference

  4. sport a league or division of clubs or teams

  5. rare an act of bestowal

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See convention.

Other Word Forms

  • conferential adjective
  • preconference noun
  • subconference noun
  • subconferential adjective

Etymology

Origin of conference

From the Medieval Latin word conferentia, dating back to 1530–40. See confer, -ence

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“The software sale is the easy part,” ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott said at a Morgan Stanley conference earlier this month.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026

“Iran has no air defenses, Iran has no air force,” he said at a March 13 Pentagon news conference.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

Within a week, Brundage was popping up on Big Pipes’ weekly conference call, sharing what he knew.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

An emotional Gattuso apologised for the defeat during his post-match news conference and admitted it was "hard to digest".

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

The conference in Las Vegas had been created, among other things, to boost faith in the market.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.