Meaning & use
teleconference
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A meeting in which people in different places take part by telephone or video link.
Grammar: Countable: use 'a' or a plural: hold a teleconference; two teleconferences.
Patterns
- hold a teleconference
- join a teleconference
- a teleconference with someone
- be on a teleconference
We held a teleconference with the Tokyo office to discuss the new schedule.
She joined the teleconference from her kitchen table.
The weekly teleconference usually lasts about an hour.
verbintransitive
To hold a meeting with people in different places by telephone or video link.
Grammar: No object: teleconference with someone. It is less common than the noun.
Patterns
- teleconference with someone
- teleconference about something
The managers teleconference every Monday morning.
We teleconferenced with the client to finalize the contract.
Word forms
| plural | teleconferences |
|---|---|
| third person singular | teleconferences |
| past tense | teleconferenced |
| past participle | teleconferenced |
| -ing form | teleconferencing |
Common combinations
- hold a teleconference
- The board will hold a teleconference on Friday.
- join a teleconference
- Please join the teleconference five minutes early.
- set up a teleconference
- Can you set up a teleconference for next week?
- a teleconference call
- He missed the teleconference call because of the time difference.
- be on a teleconference
- She is on a teleconference and cannot come to the door.
Synonyms and how they differ
- conference call
- More informal and usually audio-only; 'teleconference' can include video and sounds more formal.
- video conference
- Specifically uses video; a teleconference may be audio or video.
- meeting
- General word for people gathering; it does not say whether they are in the same place.
Word family
- teleconferencing noun
- The activity or technology of holding meetings by phone or video.
- conference noun
- A large meeting, often for several days, where people discuss a subject.
Commonly confused: teleconference or conference? teleconference or telephone conference?
teleconference vs conference
A conference is usually a large, formal event with many people; a teleconference is a meeting by phone or video, often small.
teleconference vs telephone conference
This is a longer way of saying the same thing, but 'teleconference' is the standard term.
Practice
We need to ______ a teleconference with the London team tomorrow.
Choose one answer.
'Hold a teleconference' is the usual collocation for arranging and having a meeting. 'Make' is used for calls ('make a call'), 'do' is too general, and 'take' is used for 'take a call', not for holding a meeting.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “teleconference”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.