conference Hear it!

conference Definition

con·fer·ence (kän′fər əns, -frəns; for n. 6 kən fʉr′əns)

noun

  1. the act of conversing or consulting on a serious matter
  2. a formal meeting of a number of people for discussion or consultation
  3. a meeting of committees from both branches of a legislature to reconcile the differences between bills passed by both branches
    1. a national or district governing body of the Methodist Church
    2. a national or district association of Mennonite or certain other Protestant churches
    3. a district governed or represented by a conference
  5. a national or regional association, as of colleges or their athletic teams
  6. a conferral; bestowal

Etymology: Fr conférence < ML conferentia < L conferens, prp. of conferre: see confer

intransitive verb -·enced, -·enc·ing

  1. to participate in or hold a conference
  2. to confer, usually over some distance, by means of an electronic communications system or computer network

conference Related Forms
con′·fer·enc·ing noun con′·fer·en′·tial (kän′fər en′s̸həl) adjective
conference Synonyms

conference

n.

  1. A meeting for discussion

    convention, colloquium, parley, interchange; see gathering.

  2. A consultation

    interview, appointment, audience, conferring; see conversation, discussion 1.

  3. An association of athletic teams

    league, circuit, ring; see organization 3.

conference Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • attend: Thursday I attended an external conference about meeting the needs of Mature Students in HE.
  • organize: We will be organizing a conference on risk perception to address this matter in detail.
  • hold: SAP failed to announce any major customer wins at its users conference held in Orlando, Florida, in June.
  • host: In June Britain hosted a high-level conference on children affected by armed conflict.
  • convene: The theory created considerable debate, and in 1977 the Lausanne Movement convened a special conference to consider it.
  • organize: Uzbek officials are always invited to the pompous seminars and conferences organized by the foundation.

Adjective modifier

  • annual: Plans are well advanced for the annual conference, which is to be held in 2001 in Durham.
  • one-day: National network - one-day conference in June, but again it's a voluntary thing and not nearly enough.
  • international: A major international conference to launch the final report will take place in 2006.
  • two-day: Tim Brighouse, Chief Adviser for London Schools will chair this two-day conference.
  • forthcoming: Nursing The Foundation of Nursing Studies lists forthcoming conferences, plus reports from previous conferences.
  • biennial: Its ninth biennial conference ( PPSN IX ) will be held in Reykjavik, Iceland on 9-13 September 2006.

Modifies a noun

  • proceeding: March 19, 2004: Full papers for conference proceedings due.
  • organizer: For further information, please contact the conference organizers.
  • delegate: Seeing hundreds of people playing on the slot machines at 8:30am - not conference delegates I hasten to add!
  • venue: The conference venue is the Science Building at the University of Warwick.
  • dinner: A conference dinner will be held on the evening of 14 April.
  • paper: Articles developed from conference papers will be considered for publication in the Journal of Media Practice.

Noun used with modifier

  • press: Mohammed Ali was of course the master of the press conference.
  • news: Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Yu Jianwei told a London news conference that the company wanted Government aid to help with the project.
conference Quotes

O, that it were possible, We might but hold some two days'conference With the dead!

—Webster,John

If you carry this resolution, you will send a Foreign Secretaryöwhoever he may beönaked into the conference chamber.You call that statesmanship. I call it an emotional spasm.

—Bevan, Aneurin

No grand idea was ever born in a conference, but a lot of foolish ideas have died there.

—Fitzgerald, F(rancis) Scott Key

Nowadays a sales conference resembles a Passion play: everybody is invited to participate and marvel at the drama.

—Scribner, Charles,Jr