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”; 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.

Example Sentences

And there’s a lot of benefit to the tool to be able to conquer time and space with these technologies.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

The Tuareg rebels later predicted they would conquer the country's north and the junta would "fall".

From Barron's • May 1, 2026

"Ceredigion's rich mineral and ore deposits were a major reason the Romans sought to conquer this area," she added.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 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

Without God, or a man, I could still conquer a small corner of the world—if I wanted to.

From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson

Related Words

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