English
convert
Etymology

From Old French convertir, from Latin converto.

Pronunciation
  • (RP) IPA: /ˈkɒn.vət/, [ˈkʰɒɱ.vət]
  • (America) enPR: kŏn'vûrt, IPA: /ˈkɑn.vɚt/, [ˈkʰɑɱ.vɚt]
  • (RP) IPA: /kənˈvɜːt/, [kʰə̥ɱˈvɜːt]
  • (America) enPR: kənvûrt', IPA: /kənˈvɝt/, [kʰə̥ɱˈvɝt]
Verb

convert (converts, present participle converting; simple past and past participle converted)

  1. (transitive) To transform or change (something) into another form, substance, state, or product.
    A kettle converts water into steam.
    • 1684-1690, Thomas Burnet, Sacred Theory of the Earth
      if the whole atmosphere were converted into water
    • 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain'd. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC ↗, page 91 ↗:
      That ſtill leſſens / The ſorrow, and converts it nigh to joy.
  2. (transitive) To change (something) from one use, function, or purpose to another.
    He converted his garden into a tennis court.
    • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC ↗:
      “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, […].
  3. (transitive) To induce (someone) to adopt a particular religion, faith, ideology or belief (see also sense 11).
    They converted her to Roman Catholicism on her deathbed.
    • 1855–1858, William H[ickling] Prescott, History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain, volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson, and Company, →OCLC ↗:
      No attempt was made to convert the Moslems.
    • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC ↗:
      How little chance, then, should I have against one whose brain was supernaturally sharpened, and who had two thousand years of experience, besides all manner of knowledge of the secrets of Nature at her command! Feeling that she would be more likely to convert me than I should to convert her, I thought it best to leave the matter alone, and so sat silent.
  4. (transitive) To exchange for something of equal value.
    We converted our pounds into euros.
  5. (transitive) To express (a quantity) in alternative units.
  6. (transitive) To express (a unit of measurement) in terms of another; to furnish a mathematical formula by which a quantity, expressed in the former unit, may be given in the latter.
    How do you convert feet into metres?
  7. (transitive, legal) To appropriate wrongfully or unlawfully; to commit the common law tort of conversion.
  8. (ambitransitive, rugby football) To score extra points after (a try) by completing a conversion.
  9. (transitive or intransitive, soccer) To score (especially a penalty kick).
  10. (intransitive, ten-pin bowling) To score a spare.
  11. (intransitive) To undergo a conversion of religion, faith or belief (see also sense 3).
    We’ve converted to Methodism.
  12. (intransitive) To become converted.
    The chair converts into a bed.
  13. (transitive, obsolete) To cause to turn; to turn.
    • 1600 (first performance), Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Cynthias Reuels, or The Fountayne of Selfe-Loue. […]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, →OCLC ↗:
      O, which way shall I first convert myself?
  14. (transitive, logic) To change (one proposition) into another, so that what was the subject of the first becomes the predicate of the second.
  15. (transitive, obsolete) To turn into another language; to translate.
    • 1609, Ben Jonson, The Masque of Queens:
      which story […] Catullus more elegantly converted
  16. (transitive, cricket) To increase one's individual score, especially from 50 runs (a fifty) to 100 runs (a century), or from a century to a double or triple century.
    • 2006, Gillespie hails 'fairytale' knock‎, BBC:
      Gillespie was reminded he had promised to join team-mate Matthew Hayden in a nude lap of the ground if he converted his century into a double.
  17. (intransitive, marketing) To perform the action that an online advertisement is intended to induce; to reach the point of conversion.
    Each time a user clicks on one of your adverts, you will be charged the bid amount whether the user converts or not.
  18. (ambitransitive, chess) To transform a material or positional advantage into a win.
Antonyms Related terms Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Noun

convert (plural converts)

  1. A person who has converted to a religion.
    They were all converts to Islam.
  2. A person who is now in favour of something that he or she previously opposed or disliked.
    I never really liked broccoli before, but now that I've tasted it the way you cook it, I'm a convert!
  3. Anyone who has converted from being one thing to being another.
  4. (Canadian football) The equivalent of a conversion in rugby
Translations Translations

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