con·fer·ence 
/ˈkɑ:nfərəns/ noun
plural con·fer·encenc·es /ˈkɑ:nfərəns/ noun 1 [count] : a formal meeting in which many people gather in order to talk about ideas or problems related to a particular topic (such as medicine or business) usually for several days
▪ The organization held/hosted its annual conference in New York this year. ▪ national conferences on women's health ▪ an international peace conference [=a meeting in which leaders of many countries talk about peace] ▪ a conference of foreign ministers — sometimes used before another noun ▪ a conference center [=a large building where conferences are held] 2 : a formal meeting in which a small number of people talk about something [count] ▪ Our boss called a conference to discuss the new changes. [noncount] ▪ He spent an hour in conference with the president. — often used before another noun ▪ a conference room/table — see also conference call, news conference, press conference 3 [count] US : a group of sports teams that play against each other and that are part of a larger league of teams
▪ a football conference ▪ the champions of the American Football Conference — often used before another noun ▪ the conference champions/championship
▪ The organization held/hosted its annual conference in New York this year. ▪ national conferences on women's health ▪ an international peace conference [=a meeting in which leaders of many countries talk about peace] ▪ a conference of foreign ministers — sometimes used before another noun ▪ a conference center [=a large building where conferences are held]
▪ a football conference ▪ the champions of the American Football Conference — often used before another noun ▪ the conference champions/championship
