conquer

American  

[kong-ker] / ˈkɒŋ kər /

verb (used with object)

1. to acquire by force of arms; win in war.

   to conquer a foreign land.

2. to overcome by force; subdue.

   to conquer an enemy.

   Synonyms:

   subjugate, overthrow, overpower, vanquish

3. to gain, win, or obtain by effort, personal appeal, etc..

   conquer the hearts of his audience.

4. to gain a victory over; surmount; master; overcome.

   to conquer disease and poverty; to conquer one's fear.

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verb (used without object)

1. to be victorious; make conquests; gain the victory.

   Despite their differences, their love will conquer.

conquer British  

/ ˈkɒŋkə /

verb

1. to overcome (an enemy, army, etc); defeat

2. to overcome (an obstacle, feeling, desire, etc); surmount

3. (tr) to gain possession or control of by or as if by force or war; win

4. (tr) to gain the love, sympathy, etc, of (someone) by seduction or force of personality

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conquer Idioms  

1. see divide and conquer.

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Related Words

See defeat.

Other Word Forms

• conquerable adjective
• conquerableness noun
• conquering adjective
• conqueringly adverb
• conqueror noun
• half-conquered adjective
• preconquer verb (used with object)
• reconquer verb (used with object)
• unconquerable adjective
• unconquered adjective

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”; con-, query

Example Sentences

Narbonne is the last City team to conquer the state’s top division, claiming back-to-back Division I titles in 2000 and 2001, long before the Open debuted.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026

"We need more of that too, because we need to connect again much more with people. We will need to conquer the hearts and minds again."

From Barron's • Feb. 28, 2026

It is an accomplishment of modern thinking to get to the point where we said, “You can’t go around conquering territory, and to conquer a territory doesn’t mean you have a right to the territory.”

From Salon • Feb. 25, 2026

There he encountered climbers questing to conquer the Seven Summits—the highest mountain peaks on each continent.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026

We must build bridges, conquer hate with love, and meet intolerance with a renewed commitment to education and open-mindedness.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

Related Words

• crush
• overthrow
• quell
• rout
• subdue
• subjugate
• surmount
• vanquish