What does conf mean?
'Conf' is an informal English word with two distinct uses. Its older and more colourful sense is a shortened form of 'confidence trick': a scheme in which a swindler wins a victim's trust in order to cheat them out of money or property. In this sense it is closely related to the far more common word 'con', and it carries strongly negative connotations of deceit and betrayal, appearing mostly in informal or historical British contexts. More recently, 'conf' has taken on a benign second life as casual shorthand for 'conference', especially in technology, academic, and professional settings, where phrases like 'dev conf' are routine. This split gives the word an unusual character — one sense evokes fraudsters and victims, the other lanyards and keynote talks — so context matters greatly when reading or using it.
A confidence trick; an act of swindling someone by first gaining their trust.
"The elderly widow lost her savings to a heartless conf."
Chiefly informal and now less common than 'con'.
Informal abbreviation of 'conference'.
"I'll be presenting at the developer conf next month."
Standard plural formed by adding -s.
"He attended three tech confs this year."
The word 'conf' literally shortens 'confidence' — because every swindle begins with winning your trust.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of conf
As a term for a confidence trick, 'conf' derives simply from the word 'confidence', which entered English from Latin 'confidentia', itself from 'confidere' ('to trust fully'). The clipped form arose as informal shorthand alongside the more widespread 'con', which became established in American criminal slang in the late nineteenth century. The modern conference sense is a separate, recent abbreviation with no direct link to the swindle meaning beyond the shared root word.
Related word forms
How conf is actually used
Informal register. The swindle sense is chiefly British and dated compared with the standard form 'con'; the conference sense is modern colloquial usage common in tech and professional circles.
Easily confused with conf
'Con' is the standard short form of 'confidence trick', while 'conf' is a rarer variant and also commonly serves as an abbreviation for 'conference'.