convert

¹ American  

[kuhn-vurt, kon-vurt] / kənˈvɜrt, ˈkɒn vɜrt /

verb (used with object)

• converts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• converted,
  past participle,  past
• converting
  present participle

1. 

   to change (something) into a different form or properties; transmute; transform.

2. to cause to adopt a different religion, political doctrine, opinion, etc..

   to convert the heathen.

   Synonyms:

   proselytize

3. 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.

4. to modify (something) so as to serve a different function.

   to convert an automobile factory to the manufacture of tanks.

5. 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.

6. Finance. to exchange voluntarily (a bond or preferred stock) into another security, usually common stock, because of the greater value of the latter.

7. to change in character; cause to turn from an evil life to a righteous one.

   to convert a criminal.

8. Chemistry. to cause (a substance) to undergo a chemical change.

   to convert sugar into alcohol.

9. to invert or transpose.

10. Law.

    1. to assume unlawful rights of ownership of (personal property).

    2. to change the form of (property), as from realty to personalty or vice versa.

11. to appropriate wrongfully to one's own use.

12. Logic. to transpose the subject and predicate of (a proposition) by conversion.

13. Computers. to subject to conversion.

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verb (used without object)

• converts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• converted,
  past participle,  past
• converting
  present participle

1. to become converted.

2. Football. to make a conversion.

noun

1. one who has been converted, as to a religion or opinion.

   Synonyms:

   neophyte, proselyte, novice

convert ² American  

[kon-vurt] / ˈkɒn vɜrt /

noun

Informal.

1. a convertible automobile.

2. a convertible bond.

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convert British  

verb

1. to change or adapt the form, character, or function of; transform

2. to cause (someone) to change in opinion, belief, etc

3. to change (a person or his way of life, etc) for the better

4. (intr) to admit of being changed (into)

   the table converts into a tray

5. (also intr) to change or be changed into another chemical compound or physical state

   to convert water into ice

6. law

   1. to assume unlawful proprietary rights over (personal property)

   2. to change (property) from realty into personalty or vice versa

7. (also intr) rugby to make a conversion after (a try)

8. logic to transpose the subject and predicate of (a proposition) by conversion

9. to change (a value or measurement) from one system of units to another

10. to exchange (a security or bond) for something of equivalent value

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noun

1. a person who has been converted to another belief, religion, etc

Synonym Usage

See transform.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• convertive
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• converting
  present
• converted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• convert
  simple
• converts
  simple
• have converted
  perfect
• has converted
  perfect
• am converting
  progressive
• are converting
  progressive
• is converting
  progressive
• have been converting
  perfect progressive
• has been converting
  perfect progressive

Past

• converted
  simple
• had converted
  perfect
• was converting
  progressive
• were converting
  progressive
• had been converting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will convert
  simple
• will have converted
  perfect
• will be converting
  progressive
• will have been converting
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

convert converts converted converting

In No. 12 USC football’s first three dominant wins of the season, its opponents combined to convert about one-third of third-down attempts and made one fourth-down conversion in three attempts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

He argues that it doesn't make sense to constantly convert data from photons to electrons and back to photons.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

That would allow the company to ship granules to its South African refinery and convert them into large bars to send to London.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

"We were applying huge pressure. We just didn't convert."

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

These are chemicals with extraordinary properties which are used to convert plants or animals into a sort of Medea’s robe by making them actually poisonous.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

The lime converts arecoline into a free base form, which makes it easier for the body to absorb.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

Suppose someone makes a nondeductible traditional IRA contribution and then converts it to a Roth IRA.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

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

TECfusions, which converts existing industrial facilities into data centers, said the deal implies a pro-forma enterprise value of approximately $4.2 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Around the Muslim’s restaurant, I met some of the converts, all of them neatly dressed and almost embarrassingly polite.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Those interactions generate information that can be converted into images.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026

Her aunt has converted $600 into worthless Iraqi dinars and Zimbabwean dollars that she thinks she’ll be able to use to get access to the technology when it becomes available.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

Last summer, it paid $112 million for a licensed exchange that they converted into Polymarket US.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Next door at the JW Marriott hotel, ballrooms are converted into press workspaces where celebrities and their teams milled about throughout the ceremony, reuniting cast-mates who haven't seen each other since they wrapped filming.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

The Garage was an old parking ramp that had been converted to a mini-mall.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

Leslie’s expects to hand control of the business to its lenders in exchange for converting their roughly $750 million term loan into equity, one of the people said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

ORNL's Tao Wang contributed expertise in molten salt chemistry, while ORNL's Logan Kearney supplied high-density polymers and provided expert guidance on possible routes for converting them into higher-value products.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

Google’s deployment of AI in search has led to “material new growth” in the overall volume of queries, he said, and it has also been useful for marketers looking to find higher converting leads.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

Haaland continued his fine start to the season by converting his third goal in as many games from Antoine Semenyo's deep cross, which came after Fernandez played through a slide-rule pass to the Ghanaian.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

Subtle and vastly important chemical changes are constantly in progress, converting elements derived from air and water into forms suitable for use by plants.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

• apply
• download
• modify
• remodel
• reorganize
• switch
• transform
• translate
• turn