conqueror
noun
a person who conquers or vanquishes; victor.
conqueror
American
[kong-ker-er]
/ ˈkɒŋ kər ər /
noun
Conqueror
British
/ ˈkɒŋkərə /
noun
Etymology
Origin of conqueror
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English conquerour, from Anglo-French; Old French conquereor, from conquer(re) “to conquer” ( see conquer) + -eor, from either Latin -or -or 1 or -ātor -ator
Explanation
A conqueror takes over a place by using military force. If you enjoy role-playing video games, you might like taking on the persona of a conqueror who battles evil orcs in order to rule their territory. Generally, conqueror is used to mean the winner of a war or the leader of a vanquishing army. You can also use it in a figurative way for someone who wins or defeats others in a game or sport: "My conqueror in the chess match was that tiny ten-year-old kid." The Latin root of both conqueror and conquer is conquirere, "to win or procure by effort."
Vocabulary lists containing conqueror
Chinese History - Introductory
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Chinese History - Middle School and High School
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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.
Gilgamesh returns to his kingdom of Uruk not as a conqueror but as a witness: to loss, to limitation, to the fragile beauty of what cannot last.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
The stylized tableau depicted Columbus as a noble conqueror: one hand raised to the horizon, the other lifting a veil from a globe.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 20, 2025
But it seems more and more obvious that he's seriously entertaining fantasies of being some sort of world conqueror.
From Salon • Feb. 3, 2025
Wilson, who faces Selby's conqueror Joe O'Connor next, said he stood a good chance of becoming world champion if he could maintain this form.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2024
Conquered, or conqueror, they all had one thing in common: they cultivated corn.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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.
