meeting

American  

[mee-ting] / ˈmi tɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of coming together.

   a chance meeting in the park.

   Synonyms:

   rendezvous, confrontation, encounter

2. an assembly or conference of persons for a specific purpose.

   a ten o'clock business meeting.

3. the body of persons present at an assembly or conference.

   to read a report to the meeting.

4. a hostile encounter; duel.

5. an assembly for religious worship, especially of Quakers.

6. meeting house.

7. a place or point of contact; junction; juncture: the meeting of the waters.

   the meeting of two roads;

   the meeting of the waters.

---

idioms

1. take a meeting, to hold, conduct, or participate in a meeting.

   The producer took a meeting with the cast of the film.

meeting British  

/ ˈmiːtɪŋ /

noun

1. an act of coming together; encounter

2. an assembly or gathering

3. a conjunction or union

4. a sporting competition, as of athletes, or of horse racing

---

Other Word Forms

• submeeting
  noun

Etymology

Origin of meeting

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; meet ¹ + -ing ¹

Explanation

A meeting is the planned gathering of a group of people for a specific reason. You might attend a meeting for Trekkies who are all fans of "Star Trek," or you may decide to stay home and watch "Star Trek" reruns instead. Wise move. Meetings are arranged beforehand, and when you show up at one, there will be other people there for the same purpose. Your meeting might be your monthly book group or a quick huddle after work to plan your boss's surprise birthday party. Meeting can also mean "an encounter," like the chance meeting you have with your kindergarten teacher at the grocery store, or "the place things come together," like the meeting of two streams in your yard.

Example Sentences

Meeting some of you in person reinforced what my inbox proves every week: You are smart, prudent, curious, skeptical, knowledgeable and, above all, nice.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026

Their work was published in the "New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin" and presented at the Geological Society of America Northeastern-Southeastern Annual Meeting.

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026

Meeting the U.K.’s regulatory standards led to thousands of design changes and EDF ended up needing more steel and concrete than expected.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

Meeting her reconnected me to something essential within myself and this city I call home.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

Her parents are both lawyers; they gave her the seed money for Meeting Space.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

Related Words

• competition
• confrontation
• contest
• convention
• date
• encounter
• reunion
• session
• showdown
• talk