conquer
Americanverb (used with object)
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conquers,
present (3rd person singular)
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conquered,
past participle, past
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conquering
present participle
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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)
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conquers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
conquered,
past participle, past
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conquering
present participle
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:
Eighty years later, Eisenhower owned the skies over Europe and leveraged the power of a vast coalition to conquer Hitler’s Fortress Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Regardless of the record-breaking deadline of Sept. 6, he’s adapting to a new “finish plan” and shared this truth for us all: “Together we will conquer this seemingly impossible task.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Inside North Korea’s operation to conquer the American job market.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
But he has recently sought to conquer other political territory.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Not only that, he could turn the drugstore into a thriving establishment and conquer the competition up the block.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
“Life always conquers death; the beauty of nature ultimately triumphs.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 29, 2024
However, if Buzzy has already begun to master the art of the Sorting Hat quiz, perhaps it’s only a matter of time before he conquers the rest of the SEO tentpoles.
From Slate ● Apr. 12, 2023
"It's also a message of hope that ultimately love conquers all."
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2023
The anniversary Masses are hopeful, Weiss said, with a theme that light conquers darkness.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 12, 2022
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
Aedes albopictus, a mosquito native to Asia that can transmit the same diseases as Aedes aegypti, conquered the country even faster thanks to developments in human infrastructure.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
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
On the desolate dunes of the Outer Banks, the Wright brothers conquered the sky in 1903, proving that controlled, powered flight was no longer a human fantasy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Still, the tour doesn’t shy away from the mission’s sins over its 250 years, demystifying how supposedly carefree life was during the height of its operations before the United States conquered Mexico.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
To build a tower would be to follow Eiffel into territory he already had conquered for France.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Legs revolt and take Mediterranean holidays when they’re supposed to be conquering Alpine passes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
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
During his first two rounds, he played with the greater mental freedom which he predicted reaching his golfing Everest - finally conquering Augusta National - would provide.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
“Oh, no, no. You sit right there and entertain our conquering hero.”
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
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.
