Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
conference (noun)1.
a) a meeting of two or more persons for discussing matters of common concern
b) a usually formal interchange of views - consultation
c) a meeting of members of the two branches of a legislature to adjust differences
d) - caucus
2.
- bestowal conferment
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
Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
conference (noun)1.
a body of people come together in one place
SYNONIMS:
assemblage, assembly, conference, congregation, convocation, ingathering, meeting, musterRELATED WORDS:
company, consort, coterie, gang, pack; caucus, forum, market, panel, rally, symposium, synod; audience, gallery, grandstand, house; crowd, flock, horde, legion, multitude, press, swarm, throng; crush, mob, rabble, rabblement2.
a meeting featuring a group discussion
SYNONIMS:
colloquy, conference, council, panel, panel discussion, parley, powwow, round-robin, roundtable, seminar, symposiumRELATED WORDS:
colloquium; caucus, town meeting; assembly, conclave, congregation, congress, consistory, convention, convocation, synod; debate, deliberation; brainstorming; chat room, newsgroup3.
an exchange of views for the purpose of exploring a subject or deciding an issue
SYNONIMS:
argument, argumentation, argy-bargy, back-and-forth, colloquy, confab, confabulation, conference, consult, consultation, council, counsel, debate, deliberation, dialogue ( dialog), give-and-take, palaver, parley, talkRELATED WORDS:
bull session, chat room, forum, meeting, powwow, roundtable, seminar, skull session ( skull practice), symposium, talkathon; chat, conversation, rap, words; discourse, disquisition; bargaining, consultancy, negotiation, pourparler