conference

[kon-fer-uhns, -fruhns]

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of conference¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of conference¹

C16: from Medieval Latin conferentia, from Latin conferre to bring together; see _confer

Synonym Study

See convention.

Example Sentences

At the Labour Party conference in September, Reeves appeared to rule out a specific tax on wealth.

Read more on BBC

The full findings will be detailed in a paper scheduled for release at SC25, the top global supercomputing conference taking place in mid-November.

Read more on Science Daily

Speaking at a conference of business leaders in Singapore, Mr Muñoz said the governor of Georgia had also called him and said "I don't know what happened, this is not state jurisdiction."

Read more on BBC

"I have given everything I have to this job, to this role," McClaren said in a statement at the start of Tuesday's post-game press conference.

Read more on Barron's

"We see tobacco industry tactics playing out this morning, in fact, while we're on this call," he told an online press conference on Tuesday.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• consultation 
• discussion 
• forum 
• interview 
• meeting 
• seminar 
• symposium 
• talk