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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.


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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of converter

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


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:

In 2023, the Texas Legislature unanimously passed a law raising auto insurance costs for Texans by $1 to combat rampant catalytic converter theft.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

This relic of combustion awakens in the morning with the refinement of a coffee grinder, winding at around 3,000 rpm until the catalytic converter heats up and the revs fall back to idle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Many of projects involve a mix of underground and pylon supported cables, as well as sub-stations, converter stations, and equipment used in electricity transmission.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

"Piezoelectric-based converters aren't quite ready to replace existing power converter technologies yet," Mercier added.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 10, 2026

It was boxy and angular, and it poured so much smoke out of its exhaust pipe, I was certain the Forges of some Dark Lord were firing deep within its catalytic converter.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

The chemicals firm produces catalytic converters for combustion engines, and higher energy prices accelerate the shift to electric vehicles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

If you follow-up with early converters years later, they are generally in a much higher tax bracket and their Roth accounts have grown significantly.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

Rather than relying on external electronics, converters, or batteries, the electrolyzer adjusts its electrical characteristics through its own thermal and impedance properties.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026

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

From Barron's ● May 12, 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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