conference

[ kon-fer-uhns, -fruhns ]
See synonyms for: conferenceconferences on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a meeting for consultation or discussion: a conference between a student and his adviser.

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

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

  2. an association of athletic teams; league: an intercollegiate conference.

  3. Ecclesiastical.

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

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

verb (used without object),con·fer·enced, con·fer·enc·ing.
  1. to hold or participate in a conference or series of conferences.

Origin of conference

1
From the Medieval Latin word conferentia, dating back to 1530–40. See confer, -ence

synonym study For conference

1. See convention.

Other words for conference

Other words from conference

  • con·fer·en·tial [kon-fuh-ren-shuhl], /ˌkɒn fəˈrɛn ʃəl/, adjective
  • pre·con·fer·ence, noun
  • sub·con·fer·ence, noun
  • sub·con·fer·en·tial, adjective

Words Nearby conference

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use conference in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for conference

conference

/ (ˈkɒnfərəns, -frəns) /


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

  1. 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

  2. sport a league or division of clubs or teams

  3. rare an act of bestowal

Origin of conference

1
C16: from Medieval Latin conferentia, from Latin conferre to bring together; see confer

Derived forms of conference

  • conferential (ˌkɒnfəˈrɛnʃəl), adjective

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