conclave
noun
con·clave
ˈkän-ˌklāv 
1
: a private meeting or secret assembly
especially
: a meeting of Roman Catholic cardinals secluded continuously while choosing a pope
The conclave elected the new pope on the fifth ballot.
2
: a gathering of a group or association
the annual conclave of newspaper publishers
Did you know?
Conclave comes from a Latin word meaning "room that can be locked up" (from the Latin com-, "together," and clavis, "key"). The English conclave formerly had the same meaning, but that use is now obsolete. Today, conclave refers not to the locked rooms but to the private meetings and secret assemblies that occur within them. The meaning of conclave has also expanded to include gatherings that are not necessarily secret or private but simply involve people with shared interests.
Examples of conclave in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There were more details over the sessions about the pilot projects for door-to-door collection of textile waste underway in Navi Mumbai and Bangalore, as well as the fact that the conclave in Panipat in Northern India had strengthened and was working its way towards finding more solutions.
—
Mayu Saini, Sourcing Journal, 4 Mar. 2025
Any cardinal will tell you that many cardinals in conclave have historically chosen not to listen.
—Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
Fiennes' Cardinal Thomas Lawrence organizes the conclave after the previous pope died of a heart attack.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 27 Feb. 2025
On the first day of the papal conclave, one ballot is taken, and four on each subsequent day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2025
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Mayu Saini, Sourcing Journal, 4 Mar. 2025
Any cardinal will tell you that many cardinals in conclave have historically chosen not to listen.
—Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
Fiennes' Cardinal Thomas Lawrence organizes the conclave after the previous pope died of a heart attack.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 27 Feb. 2025
On the first day of the papal conclave, one ballot is taken, and four on each subsequent day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conclave
Cite this Entry
“Conclave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conclave. Accessed 11 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
conclave
noun
con·clave
ˈkän-ˌklāv
: a private or secret meeting or assembly
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