convention
Americannoun
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a large formal meeting or assembly, as of members, representatives, or delegates, for discussion of and action on particular matters of common concern.
In 1932 he was elected president of the Missouri State Medical Association at its annual convention.
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a large meeting of people with a common interest, as in a particular recreational activity.
The site is a fan's resource for finding upcoming comic, gaming, and sci-fi conventions throughout the world.
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U.S. Politics. a representative party assembly to nominate candidates and adopt platforms and party rules.
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a rule, method, or practice established by usage; custom.
In Social Studies, the second graders learned the convention of showing north at the top of a map.
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general agreement or consent; accepted usage, especially as a standard of procedure.
Certain uses of the comma have become established by convention.
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accepted practice that has become removed from naturally occurring behavior; conventionalism.
As young, second-career farmers, they're not bound by convention, and their land isn't a traditional farm.
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a standard or customary device, structure, premise, style, etc., used in literature, music, or the arts.
Big eyes and small mouths are among the most noticeable artistic conventions of anime.
Le Guin’s novelette turned science fiction conventions on their head by making humans the invaders.
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an agreement, compact, or contract, such as an international agreement dealing with postal service or copyright.
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Bridge. any of a variety of established systems or methods of bidding or playing that allows partners to convey certain information about their hands.
noun
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a large formal assembly of a group with common interests, such as a political party or trade union
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the persons attending such an assembly
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politics an assembly of delegates of one party to select candidates for office
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diplomacy an international agreement second only to a treaty in formality
a telecommunications convention
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any agreement, compact, or contract
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the most widely accepted or established view of what is thought to be proper behaviour, good taste, etc
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an accepted rule, usage, etc
a convention used by printers
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Also called: conventional. bridge a bid or play not to be taken at its face value, which one's partner can interpret according to a prearranged bidding system
Related Words
Convention, assembly, conference, convocation name meetings for particular purposes. Convention usually suggests a meeting of delegates representing political, church, social, or fraternal organizations. Assembly usually implies a meeting for a settled or customary purpose, as for discussion, legislation, or participation in a social function. Conference suggests a meeting for consultation and discussion about business or professional problems. Convocation denotes a (church) assembly, the members of which have been summoned for a special purpose; chapel services at some colleges are called convocations.
Other Word Forms
- anticonvention adjective
- counterconvention noun
- postconvention adjective
- preconvention noun
- proconvention adjective
- unconvention noun
Etymology
Origin of convention
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English convencio(u)n “formal meeting,” from Middle French convencion “meeting, agreement, covenant,” and Latin conventiōn- (stem of conventiō ) “assembly, agreement,” literally, “a coming together”; convene, -tion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And both Reform and the Greens are willing to push the conventions of what traditional UK politicians would find acceptable - or what they believe would make them electable.
From BBC
The combined cost of the RSA headquarters office tower in Mobile and the renovation of the hotel—hailed as a showpiece for the convention market—was $162 million.
At 61, she took off for Europe, later writing that she hoped perhaps with an ocean between her and Anthony, “I should hear no more of calls, conventions, appeals or petitions.”
When a convention of Spiritualists was held in Cleveland in February 1852, hundreds of articles about the rapid spread of spirits were written in papers from Bangor, Maine, to New Orleans, Louisiana.
From Literature
So the conventions set out in the parliamentary bible Erskine May, which have long clipped the wings of debate about the monarch and their family, didn't apply to Mountbatten-Windsor.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
