conference
[noun]
Synonyms: meeting, colloquium, congress, consultation, convention, discussion, forum, seminar, symposium

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Related Words: round robin, round table

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English Thesaurus: discussion, debate, talks, negotiations, conference, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

con‧fe‧rence S2 W1 AC /ˈkɒnfərəns $ ˈkɑːn-/ noun [countable]
[Word Family: verb: confer; noun: conference]

1. a large formal meeting where a lot of people discuss important matters such as business, politics, or science, especially for several days:
Representatives from over 100 countries attended the International Peace Conference in Geneva.
conference on
a UN conference on the environment ⇒ press conference

2. a private meeting for a few people to have formal discussions
conference with
After a brief conference with his aides, he left for the airport.
conference room/table etc
The meeting will be held in the conference room at 10 am.
in conference
Mr Dickson is in conference.

3. American English a group of teams that play against each other to see who is the best:
the Western Conference finals

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

conference
noun
ADJ. national, international, regional, world | one-day, etc. | annual, quarterly, etc. | inaugural, preliminary, preparatory | consultative | joint | private | video | formal | full | successful | well-attended | high-level, summit | news, press | diplomatic, industry, inter-governmental, management, ministerial, multi-party, party, staff | constitutional, disarmament, education, environment, peace, trade, etc.
QUANT. series
VERB + CONFERENCE attend, go to | hold | organize | call, convene
CONFERENCE + VERB meet, take place | begin, open | close, end | bring sb together The conference brought together historians working in a variety of fields.
be entitled sth a conference entitled ‘Strategies for Epidemic Control’
be devoted to sth, examine sth, focus on sth, look at sth a conference devoted to the topic of peace an inter-governmental conference examining cross-border cooperation
hear sth The conference heard an appeal from a representative from one of the more deprived areas.
agree sth, decide sth, vote sth The conference agreed to adopt a set of compromise proposals.
adopt sth, approve sth, back sth, support sth The conference adopted a resolution on minority rights.
recommend sth | condemn sth, reject sth
CONFERENCE + NOUN building, centre, complex, facilities, suite, venue | chamber, hall, room | table | platform The party leader made a morale-boosting speech from the conference platform.
chairman, speaker | guests, delegates, participants | organizer | agenda, programme | theme | debate, discussion, talks | speech | resolution | paper | report | session | season
PREP. at a/the ~ We met at an international conference.
in ~ with He was in conference with (= in a meeting with) his lawyers all day.
~ about Few reporters turned up to his press conference about low pay.
~ between a conference between the warring parties
~ for a conference for catering managers
~ on a conference on economic monetary union
~ with Management had a joint conference with the union.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

conference

go to a conference (also attend a conference formal)
Hundreds of delegates are attending the conference.
hold a conference (=have one)
Their annual conference was held in Chicago.
host a conference (=have it in your country)
In June, Japan hosted a peace conference.
organize a conference
The administration organized a conference on Africa.
convene a conference formal (=arrange one)
a national conference on school violence convened by the U. S. Department of Education
address a conference (=give a speech at one)
He received a warm welcome when he addressed the conference.
a peace/climate/sales etc conference
an international climate conference in Sweden
a world/international conference
the world conference on human rights
a national conference
Brazil’s national conference on health
a regional conference
In Northern Africa, there have been important regional conferences on education.
an annual conference
the biggest annual conference for teachers of English
a party conference (=for a particular political party)
the Labour party conference
a summit conference (=for the leaders of governments)
The heads of most Arab states met in Amman for a summit conference.
conference facilities
The hotel has conference facilities for 100 people.
a conference centre (=a building or group of buildings used for conferences)
a conference hall
Thousands of people demonstrated outside the conference hall, demanding government action.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

discussion an occasion when you discuss something, or the process of discussing it:
After a long discussion, they decided to paint the room pale blue.
This led to a discussion of our favourite books.
There are several projects under discussion (=being discussed).
debate discussion of a particular subject that often continues for a long time, in which people express different opinions. Also used to mean a formal discussion of a subject, after which people vote for or against something:
There is a lot of debate about the safety of nuclear power.
The student union is holding a debate on immigration.
talks formal discussions between governments, organizations etc:
the Arab-Israeli peace talks
The next round of trade talks will be held in the spring.
Bilateral talks (=between two groups or countries)on refugees took place in November.
negotiations official discussions between two or more groups who are trying to agree on something:
The two sides have begun negotiations aimed at ending the dispute.
International negotiations on reducing sulphur dioxide emissions have ended without agreement.
conference a large formal meeting at which people from many places discuss their work or research, or important matters relating to their organization:
an international conference on nuclear physics
the Labour Party conference
consultation a formal discussion in which people who are affected by or involved in something can give their opinions:
The govenment promised a full public consultation before a decision was made to build the airport.
The revised syllabus was devised after wide consultations with the teaching profession.
discuss to talk seriously about problems, ideas, or plans:
They met to discuss how the building should be designed.
She refuses to discuss the matter.
talk something over to discuss something with someone because it will affect them, especially someone close to you:
Before you accept the job, talk it over with your family.
You two need to sit down and talk things over.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

meeting an occasion when people meet in order to discuss something:
a business meeting.
Mr Bell is in a meeting.
The committee will hold another meeting Wednesday.
conference an organized event, especially one that continues for several days, at which a lot of people meet to discuss a particular subject and hear speeches about it:
Didn’t you give a talk at the conference last year?
a conference of women business leaders
convention a large formal meeting of people who belong to a political party, or to an organization of people with the same interests:
the Democratic Party Convention
a convention for Star Trek fans
rally a large public meeting, especially one that is held outdoors to support or protest about something:
There was a massive peace rally in London.
summit a meeting between government leaders from important and powerful countries, to discuss important matters:
A summit meeting of OPEC leaders was called to find a solution to the oil crisis.
next week’s economic summit
caucus American English a local meeting of the members of a political party to choose people to represent them at a larger meeting, or to choose a candidate in an election:
Obama won the Iowa caucus in 2007.
teleconference/video conference a business meeting in which people in different places talk to each other using telephones or video equipment:
The chairman held teleconferences with his senior managers.
gathering/get-together a situation in which a group of people come together to meet, talk, and have drinks with each other, especially friends or family:
We held a small family get-together to celebrate her birthday.
She arranged social gatherings in Kettering for young people on Saturday evenings.
date an arrangement to meet someone who you are having, or hoping to have, a romantic relationship with:
I think I might ask her out on a date.
rendezvous a meeting where two people have arranged to meet at a particular time or place, often secretly:
She arranged a rendezvous with him in the hotel bar.
tryst literary a secret meeting between people who are having a romantic relationship:
a good place for a moonlight tryst

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

conference
ˈkɔnfərəns
See: press conference

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲