council

1 a coming together of a number of persons for a specified purpose <a war council attended by the top commanders of each of the armed services> Synonyms assembly, congress, convention, convocation, meeting, gathering, get-together, huddle, powwowRelated Words clinic, workshop; cabinet, caucus, conclave, synod; demonstration, rally; confab, conversation, dialogue (also dialog), discourse, discussion, palaver, talk; negotiation, parley, summit; conference, forum, round-robin, roundtable, seminar, symposium; audience, interview, session

2 a group of persons formally joined together for some common interest <the neighborhood council decided to campaign for a new park> Synonyms board, brotherhood, chamber, club, college, congress, consortium, association, fellowship, fraternity, guild (also gild), institute, institution, league, order, organization, society, sodalityRelated Words collective, commune, community, cooperative; alliance, bloc, camp, coalition, partnership; body, cadre, group; circle, clan, clique, coterie, junta, junto, klatch (also klatsch), lot, set; crew, outfit, party, squad, team; branch, chapter, local; faithful, fold, membership; sisterhood, sorority; cabal, camarilla, camorra, confederacy, conspiracy; band, gang, ring; cartel, combine, syndicate

3 a meeting featuring a group discussion <summoned to a council to discuss ways that the state could improve medical care for the elderly> Synonyms colloquy, conference, forum, panel, panel discussion, parley, powwow, round-robin, roundtable, seminar, symposiumRelated Words colloquium; caucus, town meeting; assembly, conclave, congregation, congress, consistory, convention, convocation, synod; debate, deliberation; brainstorming; chat room, newsgroup

4 a local unit of an organization <the scout's own council chose to ignore the national organization's discriminatory policies> Synonyms affiliate, branch, cell, chapter, localRelated Words arm, division, wing; offshoot, subchapter; lodge, post

5 an exchange of views for the purpose of exploring a subject or deciding an issue <an unscheduled council in the judge's chambers> Synonyms argument, argumentation, argy-bargy [chiefly British], back-and-forth, colloquy, confab, confabulation, conference, consult, consultation, discussion, counsel, debate, deliberation, dialogue (also dialog), give-and-take, palaver, parley, talkRelated Words bull session, chat room, forum, meeting, powwow, roundtable, seminar, skull session (also skull practice), symposium, talkathon; chat, conversation, rap, words; discourse, disquisition; bargaining, consultancy, negotiation, pourparler