convert
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to change (something) into a different form or properties; transmute; transform.
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to cause to adopt a different religion, political doctrine, opinion, etc..
to convert the heathen.
- Synonyms:
- proselytize
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to turn to another or a particular use or purpose; divert from the original or intended use.
They converted the study into a nursery for the baby.
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to modify (something) so as to serve a different function.
to convert an automobile factory to the manufacture of tanks.
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to obtain an equivalent value for in an exchange or calculation, as money or units of measurement.
to convert bank notes into gold; to convert yards into meters.
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Finance. to exchange voluntarily (a bond or preferred stock) into another security, usually common stock, because of the greater value of the latter.
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to change in character; cause to turn from an evil life to a righteous one.
to convert a criminal.
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Chemistry. to cause (a substance) to undergo a chemical change.
to convert sugar into alcohol.
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to invert or transpose.
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Law.
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to assume unlawful rights of ownership of (personal property).
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to change the form of (property), as from realty to personalty or vice versa.
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to appropriate wrongfully to one's own use.
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Logic. to transpose the subject and predicate of (a proposition) by conversion.
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Computers. to subject to conversion.
verb (used without object)
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to become converted.
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Football. to make a conversion.
noun
verb
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to change or adapt the form, character, or function of; transform
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to cause (someone) to change in opinion, belief, etc
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to change (a person or his way of life, etc) for the better
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(intr) to admit of being changed (into)
the table converts into a tray
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(also intr) to change or be changed into another chemical compound or physical state
to convert water into ice
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law
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to assume unlawful proprietary rights over (personal property)
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to change (property) from realty into personalty or vice versa
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(also intr) rugby to make a conversion after (a try)
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logic to transpose the subject and predicate of (a proposition) by conversion
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to change (a value or measurement) from one system of units to another
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to exchange (a security or bond) for something of equivalent value
noun
Synonym Usage
See transform.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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convertsimple
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convertssimple
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have convertedperfect
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has convertedperfect
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am convertingprogressive
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are convertingprogressive
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is convertingprogressive
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have been convertingperfect progressive
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has been convertingperfect progressive
Past
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convertedsimple
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had convertedperfect
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was convertingprogressive
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were convertingprogressive
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had been convertingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of convert1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb converten, from Latin convertere “to change completely,” equivalent to con- intensive prefix + vertere “to turn”; noun convert replacing converse, Middle English convers, ultimately from Latin conversus; see also converse 2, verse 1
Origin of convert2
By shortening of convertible
Explanation
Think of the word convert as meaning "change," whether it is a person who adopts a new belief, or a changing action, such as when you convert dollars into euros. Many times we can catch a word's meaning by looking at its origins. In this case, the Latin con means "around," while vertere means "turn." So we can figure that convert means to "turn around," an object or one's thoughts on an idea. For example, you might convert a meat eater into a vegetarian or an empty-nester might convert the kids' bedroom into an exercise room.
Vocabulary lists containing convert
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5
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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:
While the ADRs can be converted into Korean shares, regulatory restrictions make it hard to convert them back, and impossible without the permission of the company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
It contains cells that detect light and convert it into electrical signals, which are then sent to the brain and assembled into the images we see.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
The building's current owners – the Brodsky Organization, GFP Real Estate, and the Sorgente Group - began renovations in 2023, after announcing they would convert it into high-end condos.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
The only way in which ordinary shares can become ADRs is if someone were to convert ADRs to ordinaries and create room.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Plants gather the photons and convert solar to chemical energy.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Three days after the executive order, the White House implemented the order through National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, which converts the fiction into machinery.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
Nesma El-Areef, senior marketing and sales manager at Uflex Egypt, which converts plastic waste into new packaging materials, said demand for the company's recycled products rose by up to 40 percent.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
"We found that something as simple as the type of chewing gum used alongside beetroot juice can influence how effectively the body converts dietary nitrate into compounds that help lower blood pressure."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
The longest section of the book details the extraordinary variety of schemes to attract converts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
In fact, convict- converts usually were better prepared than were numerous prospective Muslims who never had been inside a prison.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
These shares can be converted into ordinary shares later, and their value can change before a listing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Meanwhile, every village in the Philippines has a basketball court that is easily converted into a beauty pageant runway, and boxing gyms run by prizefighters are spread across major cities.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
A camera connected to a light microscope records the fossils, and the color information is converted into an average gray scale value.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
Before going into your car, crude oil must go through a refining process to be converted into gasoline and other products like diesel and jet fuel — and that’s where the bottleneck has shown itself.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
In fact, Charles only converted on his deathbed.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
You could reach a middle ground by financing the home purchase with a mortgage now and gradually withdrawing or converting IRA funds over time in a tax-efficient manner.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
German defense giant Rheinmetall is converting a civilian nitrocellulose site into a military-grade plant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
He has taken Argentina's opening penalty in nine shootouts, converting seven, with his only misses coming against Chile in the 2016 Copa America final and Ecuador in the 2024 Copa América quarter-final.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
This means light must pass through layers of nerve fibres before reaching the photoreceptors – specialised cells responsible for detecting light and converting that into a nerve impulse to send to the brain.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
I was learning from books what my father had learned by doing, but we worked together to master challenges of converting metric measurements to the equivalents in inches, feet, and yards.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
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.
