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.

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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

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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

A detective led Jessica to the same conference room where Stafford and Evans had sorted through the evidence only days earlier.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026

President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government announced the staggering figure at a press conference in Mexico City last month.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

The work will be presented at the International Conference of Robotics and Automation in Vienna in May and will appear in the conference proceedings.

From Science Daily • Apr. 5, 2026

John Honeycutt, the chair of the Artemis II Mission Management Team, summed up the public interest in the space toilet during a news conference on Saturday evening.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026

“Think about it. If Jonah’s suddenly all confused and worried about his identity, the last thing he needs is to have you write adoption conference in a public place like that.”

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Related Words

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