Meaning & use
conference call
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablebusiness
A telephone meeting in which three or more people in different places can all speak and listen.
Grammar: Countable: a conference call, two conference calls.
Patterns
- be on a conference call
- join a conference call
- set up a conference call
I can't talk now—I'm on a conference call with the London office.
We set up a conference call so everyone could hear the announcement.
She joined the conference call from her car.
Word forms
| plural | conference calls |
|---|
Common combinations
- be on a conference call
- He was on a conference call for most of the morning.
- set up a conference call
- Can you set up a conference call for three o'clock?
- join a conference call
- Please join the conference call five minutes early.
- a conference call with someone
- We had a conference call with our partners in Tokyo.
- a conference call number
- I'll email you the conference call number.
Synonyms and how they differ
- teleconference
- Teleconference is a more formal word for the same thing and can also include video; conference call usually means audio only.
- video call
- A video call lets people see each other; a conference call is usually just voices.
Word family
- conference noun
- A large meeting where people discuss a subject.
- call noun
- A conversation by phone.
Commonly confused: conference call or conference?
conference call vs conference
A conference is a large meeting where people come together in person; a conference call is a phone meeting.
Practice
We need to ______ a conference call with all the regional managers tomorrow.
Choose one answer.
Set up a conference call is the natural phrase for arranging one. Do, take, and make do not collocate with conference call in this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “conference call”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.