conference
noun
con·fer·ence
ˈkän-f(ə-)rən(t)s 
-fərn(t)s,
for sense 2 usually kən-ˈfər-ən(t)s
1
a
: a meeting of two or more persons for discussing matters of common concern
The president is in conference with his advisers.
b
: a usually formal interchange of views : consultation
a conference on climate change
c
: a meeting of members of the two branches of a legislature to adjust differences
d
: caucus
2
or less commonly conferrence
: bestowal, conferment
the conference of academic degrees
3
a
: a representative assembly or administrative organization of a religious denomination
b
: a territorial division of a religious denomination
4
: an association of athletic teams
a football conference
Examples of conference in a Sentence
The organization held its annual conference in New York this year.
national conferences on women's health
a conference of foreign ministers
Our boss called a conference to discuss the new changes.
He spent an hour in conference with the president.
the champions of the American Football Conference
Recent Examples on the Web
On Monday afternoon, a few hours before the first ferocious attacks of Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza City made buildings tremble as far away as Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Jerusalem for an economics conference.
—
Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2025
Driven by the country’s surging middle class, Indian tourists are projected to spend as much as $144 billion a year on international travel by 2030, according to the Arabian Travel Market, an annual industry conference on Middle East tourism.
—Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Earlier on Thursday, Muñoz opened the company’s first US investor conference in New York City by expressing his compassion to those workers and their families.
—Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
Other recent offerings include the National Black MBA Conference, the AfroTech conference, the Women in Investing conference, and the Prospanica National Conference for Hispanic students.
—Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conference
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2025
Driven by the country’s surging middle class, Indian tourists are projected to spend as much as $144 billion a year on international travel by 2030, according to the Arabian Travel Market, an annual industry conference on Middle East tourism.
—Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Earlier on Thursday, Muñoz opened the company’s first US investor conference in New York City by expressing his compassion to those workers and their families.
—Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
Other recent offerings include the National Black MBA Conference, the AfroTech conference, the Women in Investing conference, and the Prospanica National Conference for Hispanic students.
—Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conference
Cite this Entry
“Conference.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conference. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
conference
noun
con·fer·ence
ˈkän-f(ə-)rən(t)s
-fərn(t)s
1
: a meeting for discussion or exchange of opinions
also
: the discussion itself
2
: a meeting of members of the two branches of a legislature to settle differences
3
: an association of athletic teams
a football conference
Legal Definition
conference
noun
con·fer·ence
ˈkän-frəns, -fə-rəns
1
: a meeting for consultation, deliberation, discussion, or interchange of opinions
a conference on environmental law
see also judicial conference, pretrial conference
2
: a meeting of members of the two branches of a legislature especially to adjust differences in the provisions of a bill passed in different forms by the two branches
also
: conference committee
3
: caucus
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