Conference Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary (original) (raw)

1

[count]

:

a formal meeting in which many people gather in order to talk about ideas or problems related to a particular topic (such as medicine or business) usually for several days

• The organization held/hosted its annual conference in New York this year.
• national conferences on women's health
• an international peace conference [=a meeting in which leaders of many countries talk about peace]
• a conference of foreign ministers

— sometimes used before another noun

• a conference center [=a large building where conferences are held]

2

:

a formal meeting in which a small number of people talk about something

[count]

• Our boss called a conference to discuss the new changes.

[noncount]

• He spent an hour in conference with the president.

— often used before another noun

• a conference room/table

— see also conference call, news conference, press conference

3

[count]

US

:

a group of sports teams that play against each other and that are part of a larger league of teams

• a football conference
• the champions of the American Football Conference

— often used before another noun

• the conference champions/championship