convent
Americannoun
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a community of persons devoted to religious life under a superior.
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a society or association of monks, friars, or nuns: now usually used of a society of nuns.
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the building or buildings occupied by such a society; a monastery or nunnery.
- Synonyms:
- cloister
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Obsolete. assembly; meeting.
noun
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a building inhabited by a religious community, usually of nuns
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the religious community inhabiting such a building
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Also called: convent school. a school in which the teachers are nuns
Etymology
Origin of convent
1175–1225; < Medieval Latin conventus; Latin: assembly, coming together, equivalent to conven ( īre ) ( see convene) + -tus suffix of v. action; replacing Middle English covent < Anglo-French < Medieval Latin, as above
Explanation
A convent is a place where nuns live. Have you decided to dedicate the rest of your life to serving God? Well, then, maybe it’s time for you to consider moving into a convent. Although convent usually refers to the actual building where nuns live together, it can also sometimes more generally refer to a Christian community that is living according to religious vows. Catholic monks live in communities together in monasteries, while Catholic nuns tend to live in convents.
Vocabulary lists containing convent
"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
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The Poet X
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Queen of the Sea
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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.
He grew up in Kolkata, moving between a convent school and a prestigious Jesuit boys' school where he first discovered music while cleaning instruments in the music room.
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026
Looming over the colorless town is its hulking circa-1385 monastery, extended in convent courtyards and stately chapels with lofty naves, offering dazzling displays of stained glass.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
In Rome, they founded the convent of Santa Maria del Popolo at one of the city's main entrances, with trees and gardens nearby.
From Science Daily • Feb. 2, 2026
Seasonal purists could just download the dozen or so Christmas episodes of this long-running and still-exceptional drama about a group of midwives working out of a convent in London’s East End.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025
A heavy silence, more fearful than pious, engulfs the convent.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
