con ‧ fe ‧ rence S2 W1 AC /ˈkɒnf ə rəns $ ˈkɑːn-/ BrE AmE 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
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ 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.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + 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 + NOUN
▪ 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.