Meaning & use
hold a meeting
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
To organize and have a meeting where people come together to discuss something.
Grammar: Used as a verb phrase: hold a meeting, held a meeting, holding a meeting. The object is usually a meeting or a specific type of meeting.
Patterns
- hold a meeting
- hold a meeting with someone
- hold a meeting about something
- hold a meeting to do something
We will hold a meeting tomorrow to discuss the new project.
The committee held a meeting to review the budget.
They are holding a meeting with the client this afternoon.
Word forms
| third person singular | holds a meeting |
|---|---|
| past tense | held a meeting |
| past participle | held a meeting |
| -ing form | holding a meeting |
Common combinations
- hold a meeting with someone
- The manager held a meeting with the new employees.
- hold a meeting about something
- They held a meeting about the safety rules.
- hold a meeting to discuss something
- We need to hold a meeting to discuss the schedule.
- hold a meeting in a place
- The board will hold a meeting in the conference room.
- hold a regular meeting
- The team holds a regular meeting every Monday.
Synonyms and how they differ
- have a meeting
- Have a meeting is more common in everyday speech; hold a meeting sounds slightly more formal.
- convene a meeting
- Convene is more formal and often used for official or large gatherings.
- call a meeting
- Call a meeting emphasizes arranging it, while hold a meeting emphasizes the event itself happening.
Opposites
Word family
- meeting noun
- An event where people come together to talk.
Commonly confused: hold a meeting or make a meeting?
hold a meeting vs make a meeting
Make a meeting is not natural English; use hold or have a meeting instead.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
The past tense of hold is held, so 'They held a meeting' is correct. 'Made a meeting' is not natural (A), 'She hold' needs 'holds' (B), and 'holds' cannot be used with 'yesterday' (D).
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hold a meeting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.