Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "conclave" [con•clave]

  • A secret or confidential meeting. (noun)
  • Roman Catholic Church The private rooms in which the cardinals meet to elect a new pope. (noun)
  • Roman Catholic Church The meeting held to elect a new pope. (noun)
  • A meeting of family members or associates. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "conclave" in a sentence
  • "After his election Gregory X set out some hard-line regulations for future elections: his 1274 constitution Ubi periculum contains the first use of the word conclave—from the Latin cum clavis, “with a key.”"
  • "Fiddling with the rules of the conclave is a perennial pasttime of pontiffs, but one long-term tradition is that the Pope must receive a vote from two-thirds plus one of the cardinals present."
  • "And then the fourth event to keep an eye on is about two weeks from today this meeting, what they call a conclave, which literally in Latin translates into "with a key," the conclave will begin in the Sistine Chapel, when 117 cardinals get together and decide ballot by ballot who will be the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church."