conquer
Americanverb (used with object)
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to acquire by force of arms; win in war.
to conquer a foreign land.
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to overcome by force; subdue.
to conquer an enemy.
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to gain, win, or obtain by effort, personal appeal, etc..
conquer the hearts of his audience.
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to gain a victory over; surmount; master; overcome.
to conquer disease and poverty; to conquer one's fear.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to overcome (an enemy, army, etc); defeat
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to overcome (an obstacle, feeling, desire, etc); surmount
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(tr) to gain possession or control of by or as if by force or war; win
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(tr) to gain the love, sympathy, etc, of (someone) by seduction or force of personality
Synonym Usage
See defeat.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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conquerablenessnoun
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conquerornoun
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preconquerverb (used with object)
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reconquerverb (used with object)
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conquerableadjective
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conqueringadjective
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half-conqueredadjective
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unconquerableadjective
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unconqueredadjective
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conqueringlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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conquersimple
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conquerssimple
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have conqueredperfect
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has conqueredperfect
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am conqueringprogressive
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are conqueringprogressive
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is conqueringprogressive
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have been conqueringperfect progressive
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has been conqueringperfect progressive
Past
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conqueredsimple
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had conqueredperfect
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was conqueringprogressive
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were conqueringprogressive
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had been conqueringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of conquer
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English conqueren, from Anglo-French conquerir, Old French conquerre, from Vulgar Latin conquērere (unrecorded) “to acquire,” from Latin conquīrere “to seek out”; see con-, query
Explanation
To conquer is to defeat someone or something, usually with force, like army troops that conquer enemy territory, or your lunchtime hunger which you conquer with a sandwich and cup of soup. To correctly pronounce conquer, accent the first syllable: "CON-kur." It comes from the Old French word conquerre, meaning "defeat, vanquish." Use conquer to show you've gained control over something, like doing breathing exercises as the airplane takes off to help you conquer your fear of flying. You'll hear people say they've conquered Mount McKinley, or the Appalachian Trail. It means they've hiked and climbed the whole route, not declared the place theirs alone.
Vocabulary lists containing conquer
Beowulf vocabulary
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John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961
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"Culture Clash"
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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.
See Examples For:
But he has recently sought to conquer other political territory.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The weekend is almost in sight and you’re craving something comforting yet nourishing to help you conquer these final weeknights.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
"There is an ecosystem that's conducive to the emergence of entrepreneurs like us. That strengthens our confidence in the outlook," said Yattabare, who now hopes to conquer the European market.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
If your biggest fear now is that something bad could still happen to deplete your funds before you die, maybe it is time to conquer that one too, because the math is on your side.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026
“The Trials are a test of my mettle. I might not know what's in store, but must be prepared anyway. I must conquer my weaknesses and exploit competitors’ weaknesses.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
"That guy deserves to be in the history of our club, not just for what he does but for what his team conquers," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2025
Roan, dressed as a lordly knight, emerges from a castle and conquers it.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2025
“Life always conquers death; the beauty of nature ultimately triumphs.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 29, 2024
Their story portrayed to audiences that love conquers all and that it truly is blind — the sole premise or maybe even the fantasy the show is built on.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2023
The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
But more of the country is to be conquered, with company executives saying they would focus a campaign on weekend brunch.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Multiple hurdles had to be conquered to make the groundbreaking ride — which finally opens this summer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
On a stage at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, the chief executive of Australian airline Qantas declares: "The tyranny of distance has finally been conquered".
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
In 1954 Life magazine described Salk as the man who had conquered polio.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
We became unnatural the moment we conquered death, Scythe Faraday would say—but couldn’t that be a reason to seek whatever nature we could find within ourselves?
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
The practice started when the financial-services companies that lined lower Broadway would throw their used stock-ticker tape out the window onto the conquering heroes passing below.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
But we all know summer fare like this is only ever as enjoyable as the monsters conjured up for conquering.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
After conquering the bantamweight division, Inoue moved up to super-bantamweight in July 2023 and became the undisputed champion later that year.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
“Michael” ends in 1988 with the star conquering the world on the “Bad” tour.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
Her own horoscope is something about conquering new heights, but she’s never happy until she hears mine, too.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
