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

"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

"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

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

He did not need to conquer nature in order to understand it.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

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