meeting

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US /ˈmiː.t̬ɪŋ/ 
UK /ˈmiː.tɪŋ/ 

Oxford Essential Dictionary

meeting

 noun

1 a time when people come together for a special reason, usually to talk about something:
We had a meeting to talk about the plans for the new swimming pool.

2 a time when two or more people come together:
Do you remember your first meeting with your husband?

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

meeting

meeting S1 W1 /ˈmiːtɪŋ/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
1. an event at which people meet to discuss and decide things:
We’re having a meeting next week to discuss the matter.
at a meeting
I’ll raise the matter at the next meeting.
in a meeting
She said that Mr Coleby was in a meeting.
meeting about/on
There was a public meeting about the future of the gallery.
meeting with
I’ve got a meeting with Mr Edwards this afternoon.
meeting of
a meeting of senior politicians
meeting between
a meeting between unions and management
2. the meeting formal all the people who are at a meeting:
I’d like to put a few ideas before the meeting.
3. [usually singular] when people meet each other by chance or because they have arranged to do this:
I had felt drawn to Alice ever since our first meeting.
4. a sports competition or a set of races for horses
5. meeting of minds a situation in which two people have very similar ideas and understand each other very well:
There was a real meeting of minds between the two leaders.
6. an event at which a group of Quakers (=a Christian religious group) pray together

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

meeting

meet·ing [meeting meetings]   [ˈmiːtɪŋ]    [ˈmiːtɪŋ]  noun
1. countable an occasion when people come together to discuss or decide sth
to have/hold/call/attend a meeting
The meeting will be held in the school hall.
a committee/staff meeting
What time is the meeting?
Helen will chair the meeting (= be in charge of it).
I'll be in a meeting all morning— can you take my calls?
• a meeting of the United Nations Security Council

• The meeting was postponed.

2. the meeting singular the people at a meeting

• The meeting voted to accept the pay offer.

3. countable a situation in which two or more people meet together, because they have arranged it or by chance
Syn:  encounter
At our first meeting I was nervous.
It was a chance meeting that would change my life.
• He remembered their childhood meetings with nostalgia.

• The meeting of father and son after so long was a joyous occasion.

4. countable (BrE) a sports event or set of races, especially for horses
an athletics meeting
a race meeting
The horse has won at all of his previous meetings this season.
Idiom: meeting of minds  
Thesaurus:
meeting noun
1. C
Dr Grey will chair the meeting.
sessiongatheringassemblyconferenceconventionsummit
an annual meeting/session/gathering/assembly/conference/convention/summit
hold/attend a/an meeting/session/gathering/assembly/conference/convention/summit
address a/an meeting/session/gathering/assembly/conference/convention
2. C
I was nervous at our first meeting.
encounterappointmentdateengagementintroduction
a/an meeting/encounter/appointment/date/engagement with sb
have a/an meeting/encounter/appointment/date/engagement
arrange a/an meeting/appointment/date/introduction 
Example Bank:
He always spoke as if he were addressing a public meeting.
He was summoned to a meeting with the head of the department.
I had a chance meeting with an old friend last week.
I have to chair a meeting tomorrow.
I'm afraid Mrs Haley is in a meeting at the moment.
It is unclear whether the meeting will go ahead as planned.
It was decided at a planning meeting.
Jay drove to the meeting spot.
Management have called a joint meeting with staff and unions.
One phone call was enough to get an initial meeting.
Opposition has been expressed at community meetings.
Our group meetings take place on Saturdays.
She headed off to her budget meeting.
She was a frequent invited speaker at professional meetings.
The arts space serves as a meeting ground for professional artists.
The chairman called the meeting to order.
The chairman declared the meeting open.
The chairperson opened the meeting.
The committee has called a meeting to discuss the president's death.
The employees who run the meetings stick to a strict agenda.
The meeting adjourned for coffee at eleven.
The meeting broke up after a row over whether to allow cameras in.
The meeting closed on a sour note.
The meeting dragged into the early hours of the next day.
The meeting expressed concern that the problem had still not been addressed.
The meeting heard that two workers had been fired with no official reason given.
The meeting heard that two workers had been sacked on the spot with no official reason given.
The meeting never happened.
The meeting seemed interminable.
The meeting voted 423–133 for a strike.
The meeting voted 423–133 in favour of a strike.
The meetings focused on ways of cutting costs.
The organization holds various regional meetings.
The secretary circulated the minutes of the previous week's meeting to all committee members.
The society is holding its Annual General Meeting in the conference room next Monday.
The students had a class meeting about cheating.
These meetings produced a settlement agreement.
They now have virtual meetings over the Internet.
This meeting urges the company to reconsider its decision to close the factory.
We called a mandatory meeting of our department heads this morning.
We had an editorial meeting about it.
We had endless meetings about the problem.
We hold public meetings on this topic.
a meeting about the plans for a new road
a meeting aimed at restoring peace in the region
a meeting between tutors and students
a meeting for parents
a meeting sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations
a meeting with French officials
an informal meeting among the members of the Press Agents Association
both national and local chapter meetings
his job as corporate meeting planner
A meeting of the United Nations Security Council was called.
Helen will chair the meeting.
I'll be in a meeting all morning— can you take my calls?
• The company's annual general meeting will take place on the 5 June.

• a committee/staff meeting

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

meeting /ˈmiː.tɪŋ/ US /-ţɪŋ/
noun [C]
1 an occasion when people come together intentionally or unintentionally:
We're having a meeting on Thursday to discuss the problem.
I'm afraid she's in a meeting - I'll ask her to call you back later.
A chance (= unintentional) meeting with a publisher on an airplane had launched his career.
I liked him from our first meeting.

2 UK a sports competition

3 a group of people who have met for a particular purpose:
The meeting wants to look at the proposal again.

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

meeting

/mi:tɪŋ/
(meetings)

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.

1.
A meeting is an event in which a group of people come together to discuss things or make decisions.
Can we have a meeting to discuss that?
...business meetings.
N-COUNT

You can also refer to the people at a meeting as the meeting.
The meeting decided that further efforts were needed.
N-SING: the N

2.
When you meet someone, either by chance or by arrangement, you can refer to this event as a meeting.
In January, 37 years after our first meeting, I was back in the studio with Denis...
= encounter
N-COUNT: oft with poss

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

meeting

meet·ing /ˈmiːtɪŋ/ noun, pl -ings
1 a [count] : a gathering of people for a particular purpose (such as to talk about business)
• The club's monthly meeting will be held next Monday evening.
• She was too busy to attend the meeting.
• Let's have/hold/call/convene a meeting to discuss these problems.
• postpone/adjourn/close a business meeting
• a committee/staff meeting
• I wasn't able to talk to him because he was in a meeting.
b : a gathering of people for religious worship

[count]

• a Quaker meeting
• a revival meeting
• a prayer meeting

[noncount]

• (US) He attends Quaker meeting.
2 [count]
a : a situation or occasion when two people see and talk to each other
• They started dating each other soon after their first meeting.
• Their friendship began with a chance meeting at a business convention.
b : a situation or occasion when athletes or teams compete against each other
• Tonight's game will be their first meeting of the season.
c Brit2meet 1
• an athletics meeting
3 [singular] : the place where two things come together
• a town at the meeting of two rivers
a meeting of minds or US a meeting of the minds : an understanding or agreement between two people or groups
• The company and the union tried to come to a meeting of the minds. [=they tried to reach an agreement]