conference

A2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈkɑn.f(ə.)ɹəns/ UK /ˈkɒn.f(ə.)ɹəns/ See IPA manual

Freq #2561

Meanings

1

noun
A large formal meeting where people discuss a particular subject, often over several days.

Hundreds of doctors attended the medical conference in Berlin.
2

noun
A smaller meeting held to discuss or decide something.

The managers held a conference to plan next year's budget.
3

noun
A group of sports teams that play matches against each other.

Their team finished top of the conference this season.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · a smaller meeting held to... group discussion

3 noun · a group of sports teams... league

Word family

Forms conferences

Derived forms audioconferenceconference-goerconferenceeconferencegoerconferencelikeconferencerconferencewidecyberconferenceinterconferenceintraconferencemegaconferencemulticonference

Related forms discussant lecturerparleyerprelectorspeaker

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

press conference
an event at which journalists ask questions of a public figure or organization

Noun + noun

Etymology

From Middle French conférence, from Medieval Latin cōnferentia, from Latin cōnferēns, several steps omitting from con- + ferō. Compare parallel Russian собра́ние (sobránije), Russian сбо́рище (sbórišče), akin to с- (s-), со- (so-) + брать (bratʹ), ultimately from the same Indo-European prefix and root. Also compare congress, convention.

conférence Middle French cōnferentia la-med cōnferēns Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Register & Style

External links

# conference

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɑn.f(ə.)ɹəns/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkɒn.f(ə.)ɹəns/
**Frequency rank:** 2561

## Meanings
1. A large formal meeting where people discuss a particular subject, often over several days.
2. A smaller meeting held to discuss or decide something.
3. A group of sports teams that play matches against each other.

## Examples
- Hundreds of doctors attended the medical conference in Berlin.
- The managers held a conference to plan next year's budget.
- Their team finished top of the conference this season.

## Derived Forms
- audioconference
- conference-goer
- conferencee
- conferencegoer
- conferencelike
- conferencer
- conferencewide
- cyberconference
- interconference
- intraconference
- megaconference
- multiconference

## Related Forms
- discussant
- lecturer
- parleyer
- prelector
- speaker

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: conférence
- Root: cōnferentia
- Root: cōnferēns

## Etymology
From Middle French conférence, from Medieval Latin cōnferentia, from Latin cōnferēns, several steps omitting from con- + ferō. Compare parallel Russian собра́ние (sobránije), Russian сбо́рище (sbórišče), akin to с- (s-), со- (so-) + брать (bratʹ), ultimately from the same Indo-European prefix and root. Also compare congress, convention.

## AI Etymology
conference is a noun and verb. It is from Middle French conférence, from Medieval Latin cōnferentia, from Latin cōnferēns, several steps omitting from con- + ferō. Compare parallel Russian собра́ние (sobránije), Russian сбо́рище (sbórišče), akin to с- (s-), со- (so-) + брать (bratʹ), ultimately from the same Indo-European prefix and root. Also compare congress, convention. Historical forms in the chain include conférence (Middle French), cōnferentia (Medieval Latin), and cōnferēns (Latin). Current senses include a large formal meeting where people discuss a particular subject, often over several days, a smaller meeting held to discuss or decide something, and a group of sports teams that play matches against each other. Derived forms include audioconference, conference-goer, conferencee, conferencegoer, and conferencelike. Related words include discussant, lecturer, parleyer, and prelector.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Register & Style

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