converter

American  

[kuhn-vur-ter] / kənˈvɜr tər /

Or convertor

noun

converters plural

1. a person or thing that converts.

2. Electricity. a device that converts alternating current to direct current or vice versa.

3. Metallurgy. a chamber or vessel through which an oxidizing blast of air is forced, as in making steel by the Bessemer process.

4. Television. decoder.

5. Radio and Television. an auxiliary device that permits a receiver to pick up frequencies or channels for which it was not originally designed.

6. Physics. a reactor for converting one kind of fuel into another kind.

7. a person who is engaged in converting textile fabrics, especially cotton cloths, from the raw state into the finished product ready for the market by bleaching, dyeing, etc.

8. Also called converter lens.  Photography. an additional lens attached to a lens in use on a camera to alter focal length, mounted in front of a lens to produce a wide-angle effect wide-angle converter, or wide-angle converter lens or between the lens and the camera body to produce a telephoto effect teleconverter, or extender.

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converter British  

/ kənˈvɜːtə /

noun

1. a person or thing that converts

2. physics

   1. a device for converting alternating current to direct current or vice versa

   2. a device for converting a signal from one frequency to another or from analogue to digital forms

3. a vessel in which molten metal is refined, using a blast of air or oxygen See also Bessemer converter L-D converter

4. short for converter reactor

5. computing a device for converting one form of coded information to another, such as an analogue-to-digital converter

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converter Scientific  

/ kən-vûr′tər /

1. An electrical device that changes the form of an electric signal or power source, as by converting alternating current to direct current, or an analog signal to a digital signal.

2. Compare rectifier transformer

3. An electronic device that changes the frequency of a radio or other electromagnetic signal.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• converters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of converter

First recorded in 1525–35; convert ¹ + -er ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

converter converters

Offshore wind farms, he and many other villagers argue, could be connected further out at sea, with converter stations built away from existing communities rather than smack bang on top of them.

From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026

At the center of the new design is an improved version of a widely used component known as a DC-DC step-down converter.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 10, 2026

Baldwin Park police have busted a massive catalytic converter theft ring after a nine-month investigation, authorities said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026

These adjustments make just enough room on top of the engine for the pulse inverter and DC/DC converter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025

The converter attachment, which had cost them one hundred dollars, automatically supplied her name whenever the announcer addressed his anonymous audience, leaving a blank where the proper syllables could be filled in.

From "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury

“So, some of these converters are facing that kind of challenge, and you’re going to see some casualties.”

From Barron's ● May 12, 2026

To bridge that gap, many private plastic converters are leaning on credit.

From Barron's ● May 12, 2026

Conventional step-down converters often struggle when dealing with large differences between input and output voltage.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 10, 2026

Photos posted by the department on its Facebook page showed three men and a woman in handcuffs in a storage facility and a storage container about half full with what appeared to be catalytic converters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026

An online metronome, guitar tuner, blank sheet music, music theory lessons, and music converters are all available at 8notes.com.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

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