convey
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to take, carry, or transport from one place to another
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to communicate (a message, information, etc)
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(of a channel, path, etc) to conduct, transmit, or transfer
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law to transmit or transfer (the title to property)
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archaic to steal
Synonym Usage
See carry.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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conveysimple
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conveyssimple
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have conveyedperfect
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has conveyedperfect
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am conveyingprogressive
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are conveyingprogressive
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is conveyingprogressive
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have been conveyingperfect progressive
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has been conveyingperfect progressive
Past
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conveyedsimple
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had conveyedperfect
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was conveyingprogressive
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were conveyingprogressive
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had been conveyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of convey
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English conveyen, from Anglo-French conveier, from unattested Vulgar Latin conviāre, equivalent to con- “with, together, completely” + -viāre, derivative of via “way”; see con- ( def. ), via ( def. )
Explanation
When you convey something, you carry or deliver it. Little Red Riding Hood conveyed a basket of muffins to her grandmother. Your sad smile might convey more about your feelings than words ever could. You can also convey a message or information, which means that you communicate it to someone directly or indirectly through your words or actions. In law, the word convey means to transfer or pass property to someone. This verb is from Middle English conveyen, from Old French conveier, ultimately from the Latin prefix com-, "together," plus via, "way."
Vocabulary lists containing convey
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 2
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 2
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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.
Despite the art form’s foreign origins, composers such as Antonín Dvořák, George Gershwin and Charles Ives have managed to convey our country’s spirit.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026
Those advisories are “blunt instruments” that don’t adequately capture emissions from burning man-made goods — or convey that the source of pollution may include burning batteries or toxic refrigerants, he said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2026
Beyond offering audiences a good laugh, the 42-year-old Wilde -- in her third directorial effort -- wanted to convey some life lessons.
From Barron's • Jun. 25, 2026
These movies were gritty and often absurd, sometimes going as far as to rubberneck at a tragedy to convey the immediacy of the moral at hand.
From Salon • Jun. 22, 2026
“My ideas flow so rapidly that I have not time to express them—by which means my letters sometimes convey no ideas at all to my correspondents.”
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
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.
