convert
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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converts,
present (3rd person singular)
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converted,
past participle, past
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converting
present participle
-
to change (something) into a different form or properties; transmute; transform.
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to cause to adopt a different religion, political doctrine, opinion, etc..
to convert the heathen.
- Synonyms:
- proselytize
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to turn to another or a particular use or purpose; divert from the original or intended use.
They converted the study into a nursery for the baby.
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to modify (something) so as to serve a different function.
to convert an automobile factory to the manufacture of tanks.
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to obtain an equivalent value for in an exchange or calculation, as money or units of measurement.
to convert bank notes into gold; to convert yards into meters.
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Finance. to exchange voluntarily (a bond or preferred stock) into another security, usually common stock, because of the greater value of the latter.
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to change in character; cause to turn from an evil life to a righteous one.
to convert a criminal.
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Chemistry. to cause (a substance) to undergo a chemical change.
to convert sugar into alcohol.
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to invert or transpose.
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Law.
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to assume unlawful rights of ownership of (personal property).
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to change the form of (property), as from realty to personalty or vice versa.
-
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to appropriate wrongfully to one's own use.
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Logic. to transpose the subject and predicate of (a proposition) by conversion.
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Computers. to subject to conversion.
verb (used without object)
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converts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
converted,
past participle, past
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converting
present participle
-
to become converted.
-
Football. to make a conversion.
noun
verb
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to change or adapt the form, character, or function of; transform
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to cause (someone) to change in opinion, belief, etc
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to change (a person or his way of life, etc) for the better
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(intr) to admit of being changed (into)
the table converts into a tray
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(also intr) to change or be changed into another chemical compound or physical state
to convert water into ice
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law
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to assume unlawful proprietary rights over (personal property)
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to change (property) from realty into personalty or vice versa
-
-
(also intr) rugby to make a conversion after (a try)
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logic to transpose the subject and predicate of (a proposition) by conversion
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to change (a value or measurement) from one system of units to another
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to exchange (a security or bond) for something of equivalent value
noun
Synonym Usage
See transform.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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convertsimple
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convertssimple
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have convertedperfect
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has convertedperfect
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am convertingprogressive
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are convertingprogressive
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is convertingprogressive
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have been convertingperfect progressive
-
has been convertingperfect progressive
Past
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convertedsimple
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had convertedperfect
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was convertingprogressive
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were convertingprogressive
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had been convertingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of convert1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb converten, from Latin convertere “to change completely,” equivalent to con- intensive prefix + vertere “to turn”; noun convert replacing converse, Middle English convers, ultimately from Latin conversus; see also converse 2, verse 1
Origin of convert2
By shortening of convertible
Explanation
Think of the word convert as meaning "change," whether it is a person who adopts a new belief, or a changing action, such as when you convert dollars into euros. Many times we can catch a word's meaning by looking at its origins. In this case, the Latin con means "around," while vertere means "turn." So we can figure that convert means to "turn around," an object or one's thoughts on an idea. For example, you might convert a meat eater into a vegetarian or an empty-nester might convert the kids' bedroom into an exercise room.
Vocabulary lists containing convert
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5
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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:
It says that the hospital and its senior management "bear the principal institutional responsibility for failing to convert known risks, prior warnings and assigned duties into an effective safety system".
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
He couldn’t convert the Clippers into a champion, but not for lack of trying.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Their goal is to use microorganisms to convert waste materials into food that people can safely eat.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at UK-based think tank Chatham House, said Iran "is trying to convert escalation into increased leverage".
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
She’s got a weapon that if necessary can convert solar energy into deadly rays of power, so that could last indefinitely.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
Suppose someone makes a nondeductible traditional IRA contribution and then converts it to a Roth IRA.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
Luke Tryl, who heads the More in Common research non-profit, told AFP Farage's core supporters "seem largely undeterred" but that newer Reform converts "might now be wavering".
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
The latest iteration of the initiative, which converts real user stories into romance literature, follows a zine anthology in 2024 and a hardcover book in 2025.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Three days after the executive order, the White House implemented the order through National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, which converts the fiction into machinery.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
Among the early converts to the religion of DNA was a young physicist from New Zealand, Maurice Wilkins.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Under the proposal, MoD Bicester could be converted into basic accommodation to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
They then converted the astronomical measurements into something commonly used in laboratory UV-visible spectroscopy: the absorption coefficient of the liquid making up the cloud droplets.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
The bonds can be converted into about 26.37 million shares, with an initial conversion price of HK$892.50 a share, representing a premium of 12.6% over Friday’s closing price.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Jerry Shifman converted the point-after kick for the winning margin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
Two big adjoining bedrooms upstairs were converted into hospital wards—one for the boys and the other for the girls.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
He was given the goal of converting youthful promise into qualification for Euro 2028, which will be staged in England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
They would also have required future natural gas plants to meet strict emissions standards, which they could achieve by converting to cleaner-burning fuels like hydrogen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
The value comes from converting them to Roth, either inside the plan or through an in-service distribution to a Roth IRA.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
Researchers hope that converting them into nanocrystals will make it possible to use them in an even wider range of technologies.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
Reform, not punishment, is her modus operandi, and Celia has succeeded in converting many young delinquents into productive revolutionaries.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
