meeting

meeting — noun

1. A planned event where people gather, either in the same room or through video ca

1.nounA2
Definition

A planned event where people gather, either in the same room or through video calls, to talk about a topic or make decisions.

Example

The team has a meeting every Monday morning to plan the week's tasks.

hold/have a meeting — common verb collocation

Ada joined the video meeting from her kitchen table.

Common collocations
  • hold a meeting
  • have a meeting
  • call a meeting
  • attend a meeting
  • schedule a meeting
  • run a meeting
  • staff meeting
  • board meeting
  • team meeting
  • business meeting
  • meeting room
Synonyms
  • conference

    larger-scale, often multi-day meeting, sometimes with formal presentations

  • gathering

    less formal than 'meeting'; can be social rather than work-related

  • assembly

    a large formal meeting of a whole group, often in schools or organizations

Grammar Patterns

hold/have/attend/call + meeting

meeting + about/on [topic]

Usage Note

Commonly paired with verbs like 'hold', 'have', 'call', 'schedule', 'attend', and 'run'. The preposition at usually appears before the type of meeting (e.g., 'at a staff meeting').

Common Mistakes

I have a meeting on Friday.' (misunderstanding 'meeting' as a date).
I have a meeting on Friday.' is correct
but do not use 'meeting' to mean a romantic date; use 'date' instead.

2. A situation where people come into each other's company, whether by arrangement

2.nounA2
Definition

A situation where people come into each other's company, whether by arrangement or unexpectedly.

Example

My first meeting with Christopher happened years ago at a book fair.

first meeting with [someone] — first encounter

Their chance meeting at the airport led to a long friendship.

chance meeting — unplanned encounter collocation

Common collocations
  • chance meeting
  • first meeting
  • brief meeting
  • meeting with
  • meeting between
Synonyms
  • encounter

    slightly more formal; often implies something surprising or significant

  • reunion

    specifically a meeting after a long time apart

  • rendezvous

    a planned meeting rather than an accidental one; also more formal or romantic

Grammar Patterns

meeting with [someone]

Usage Note

Unlike sense 1, this sense does not imply a planned agenda. It can describe both arranged and accidental encounters. 'Chance meeting' is a common fixed expression for unplanned encounters.

Common Mistakes

We had a meeting at the park by accident.' (sounds like a formal meeting).
We had a chance meeting at the park.
use 'chance meeting' to show it was unplanned.

3. The people who have gathered for a planned discussion, thought of as a single gr

3.nounB1
Definition

The people who have gathered for a planned discussion, thought of as a single group.

Example

The entire meeting agreed that safety should come first.

the meeting as collective subject

A question from the meeting surprised the guest speaker.

Common collocations
  • the whole meeting
  • the meeting agreed
  • address the meeting
  • the meeting decided
Synonyms
  • audience

    group of listeners at a performance or speech, not participants in a discussion

  • attendees

    more neutral and factual; emphasizes individuals rather than the collective

Grammar Patterns

the meeting + singular/plural verb

Usage Note

This sense treats the attendees as a collective body. British English typically uses a singular verb ('the meeting is…'), while a plural verb ('the meeting are…') is possible but less common.

Common Mistakes

The meeting was angry.' (ambiguous — could mean the event was angry).
The members of the meeting were angry.
to refer to individuals rather than the group.

4. A sports competition where teams or individuals compete against each other, espe

4.nounB1
Definition

A sports competition where teams or individuals compete against each other, especially in horse racing or athletics.

Example

The next horse meeting at the racetrack starts in two weeks.

horse meeting — specific sport collocation

Our school won first place at the swimming meeting last Saturday.

[sport] + meeting — competition type

Common collocations
  • horse meeting
  • race meeting
  • athletics meeting
  • swimming meeting
  • sports meeting
Synonyms
  • competition

    more general term; can apply to any contest, not just sports

  • tournament

    a series of matches with elimination rounds, larger scale than a single meeting

  • meet

    American English equivalent, especially for track and field

Grammar Patterns

[type of sport] + meeting

Usage Note

Primarily British English. In American English, 'meet' (noun) is more common for athletics competitions (e.g., 'a track meet'). For horse racing, 'race meeting' or simply 'meeting' is standard in both British and Australian English.

Common Mistakes

I have a sports meeting at 3 PM.' (American speakers may misunderstand as a planning meeting about sports).
I have a sports meet at 3 PM.
in American English, use 'meet' instead of 'meeting' for competitions.
Idioms

a meeting of minds

idiom

A situation where two or more people understand each other very well because they share similar ideas or opinions.

The project succeeded because of a meeting of minds between the designers.

Did you feel a meeting of minds when you first met your business partner?

Word family

  • meet
    verbA1
  • meet
    nounB1
  • met
    verbA1
  • meets
    verbA1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Meeting' is the most general word for a planned discussion among a group of people. A 'conference' is typically a larger, more formal event that lasts multiple days and includes presentations, workshops, or talks — often with attendees traveling from different places. A 'gathering' is less structured and can be social rather than work-related; you might have a family gathering or a casual gathering of friends, which would not be called a meeting. An 'assembly' suggests a large formal gathering where information is presented to a whole group, such as a school assembly or a company-wide assembly, with less back-and-forth discussion than a typical meeting. For everyday workplace use, 'meeting' is the most neutral and common choice.

conference ↗gathering ↗assembly ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • staff meeting
  • team meeting
  • board meeting
  • committee meeting
  • business meeting
  • project meeting
  • video meeting

Phrases

  • have a meeting
  • hold a meeting
  • call a meeting
  • schedule a meeting
  • attend a meeting
  • cancel a meeting
  • run a meeting
  • chair a meeting
  • postpone a meeting

Prepositions

  • at a meeting
  • in a meeting
  • meeting with
  • meeting between
  • meeting on [topic]

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

From Old English 'mēting', meaning an assembly or encounter, derived from the verb 'mētan' (to meet). The sense of a planned business discussion emerged in the 16th century. The sports competition meaning appeared in the 18th century, originally referring to horse racing events.