Meaning & use
panel discussion
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Meaning
nouncountable
A planned conversation in front of an audience in which a small group of experts share views on a topic.
Grammar: Often takes on: a panel discussion on climate policy.
Patterns
- a panel discussion on something
- a panel discussion about something
The library hosted a panel discussion on local history.
She was invited to speak at a panel discussion about careers in science.
The panel discussion ran over time because the audience had so many questions.
Word forms
| plural | panel discussions |
|---|
Common combinations
- host a panel discussion
- The college will host a panel discussion next week.
- take part in a panel discussion
- Three authors took part in a panel discussion on writing.
- a lively panel discussion
- It was a lively panel discussion with some strong disagreement.
- moderate a panel discussion
- He was asked to moderate a panel discussion on education.
Synonyms and how they differ
- roundtable
- A roundtable is usually smaller and more informal, often without a seated audience.
- symposium
- A symposium is a larger academic meeting with several talks, not just one conversation.
- debate
- A debate has opposing sides arguing a motion, while a panel discussion shares several views without a winner.
Word family
- panel noun
- a group of people chosen to discuss or judge
- panelist noun
- a member of a panel
- discuss verb
- to talk about something
- discussion noun
- a conversation on a subject
Commonly confused: panel discussion or focus group?
panel discussion vs focus group
A focus group is a small group asked for opinions in market research, not experts talking to an audience.
Practice
Which event is a panel discussion?
Choose one answer.
A panel discussion has several speakers talking on a subject to an audience. A lecture has only one speaker.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “panel discussion”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.