symposium
Americannoun
plural
symposiums, symposia-
a meeting or conference for the discussion of some subject, especially a meeting at which several speakers talk on or discuss a topic before an audience.
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a collection of opinions expressed or articles contributed by several persons on a given subject or topic.
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an account of a discussion meeting or of the conversation at it.
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(in ancient Greece and Rome) a convivial meeting, usually following a dinner, for drinking and intellectual conversation.
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(initial capital letter, italics) a philosophical dialogue (4th century b.c.) by Plato, dealing with ideal love and the vision of absolute beauty.
noun
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a conference or meeting for the discussion of some subject, esp an academic topic or social problem
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a collection of scholarly contributions, usually published together, on a given subject
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(in classical Greece) a drinking party with intellectual conversation, music, etc
Etymology
Origin of symposium
1580–90; < Latin < Greek sympósion drinking party, equivalent to sym- sym- + po- (variant stem of pī́nein to drink) + -sion noun suffix
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.
Yin is also organizing a symposium on the Ithaca campus scheduled for March 3-5, 2026.
From Science Daily • Dec. 24, 2025
He left the symposium profoundly shaken by what he’d seen.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025
Dandridge: “Gyopo’s symposium on the chile took me back to these flavors of my upbringing, and giving me context is like giving me a part of my culture and my heritage.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 12, 2025
The event, which has been held in parliament in the past and is billed by the FPOe as a "symposium", drew criticism from Austria's Jewish community and major political parties.
From Barron's • Nov. 11, 2025
“As part of our cover story with FARM, we were already planning to be there before Sinclair got involved. I’m on a symposium panel, and Sydney’s giving a speech at one of the rallies.”
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
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.
