convene

American  

[kuhn-veen] / kənˈvin /

verb (used without object)

• convenes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• convened,
  past participle,  past
• convening
  present participle

1. to come together or assemble, usually for some public purpose.

   Synonyms:

   gather, collect, meet, congregate

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verb (used with object)

• convenes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• convened,
  past participle,  past
• convening
  present participle

1. to cause to assemble; convoke.

2. to summon to appear, as before a judicial officer.

convene British  

/ kənˈviːn /

verb

1. to gather, call together, or summon, esp for a formal meeting

2. (tr) to order to appear before a court of law, judge, tribunal, etc

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• convener
  noun
• convenor
  noun
• reconvene
  verb
• convenable
  adjective
• unconvenable
  adjective
• unconvened
  adjective
• unconvening
  adjective
• convenably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• convening
  present
• convened
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• convene
  simple
• convenes
  simple
• have convened
  perfect
• has convened
  perfect
• am convening
  progressive
• are convening
  progressive
• is convening
  progressive
• have been convening
  perfect progressive
• has been convening
  perfect progressive

Past

• convened
  simple
• had convened
  perfect
• was convening
  progressive
• were convening
  progressive
• had been convening
  perfect progressive

Future

• will convene
  simple
• will have convened
  perfect
• will be convening
  progressive
• will have been convening
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of convene

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin convenīre to come together, equivalent to con- con- + venīre to come

Explanation

The verb convene is a somewhat formal way of saying "to bring together for the purpose of a meeting." Convene is one of those words that lend an air of formality to a situation. We use it in place of the words "call a meeting" for such situations as government assemblages, court hearings, and conferences. Its meaning can be easily seen in its history — it comes from the Latin con-, which means "together," and the verb venīre, "to come." Imagine, if the syllables had just fit the music, the Beatles song "Come Together," might have been called "Convene."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

convene convenes convened convening

Newsom issued an executive order to convene “a group of world-leading experts” to provide a “guide” for the state to bolster its laws around AI security, according to statement from the governor’s office.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Bruna Subashi, an energetic woman in her 40s, asked to convene in a luridly pink dessert parlor on Vlore’s waterfront called Big Scoop.

From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026

The G20 finance talks also set the stage for a leaders' summit that Trump will convene in December in Miami.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

“National leaders should convene economists, technologists, labor experts, business leaders and workers themselves regularly to identify where existing institutions are failing and what new authorities may be needed,” he continued.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

“We will convene in twenty-one days, to grant you full-fledged Witch status, or for your punishment, which, according to the Oracle...”

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

Warsh this week presided over his second meeting of the 12-person Federal Open Market Committee, which convenes in Washington eight times a year to determine where to set interest rates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Gay will have three more Championship matches to further press his case before England's hierarchy convenes to pick their squad for the first Test of the summer against New Zealand on 4 June.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026

He said he’d be very surprised if all the election results weren’t certified by Jan. 3, when the new Congress convenes, given the legal remedies available to prevent stalling and undue delay.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026

On Thursdays, he convenes an interagency discussion of the latest threats.

From Salon ● Apr. 22, 2026

I’ll have to catch him later, when our team convenes.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

But it is highly unlikely the recess will be delayed or a special session convened in the coming days.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

Nepali police say they have convened a 10-member committee to look into these online comments.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

President Xi Jinping convened an emergency meeting on aid efforts, and Premier Li Qiang travelled to Tibet in the immediate aftermath.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Middle Eastern leaders have convened in recent days, though mediators said no breakthrough was achieved.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

At two that afternoon an informal meeting convened in Rael’s General Store.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

But “The Real Food Show” cannot recommend a salad dressing without first convening a tribunal.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

A duo for the ages is convening once again.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

Local officials are convening experts from around the country to avert a leak or explosion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026

On Friday, the appeal court said Manele must take steps before noon on Tuesday to facilitate convening parliament so lawmakers sit by May 7.

From Barron's ● May 1, 2026

Whenever the Parliament clashed with their monarch, the king would get his way by suddenly convening Parliament in a remote, unreachable part of the country.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy

Related Words

• assemble
• gather
• open
• summon