convert

present singular third person converts · participle present converting · participle past converted · past converted

1. transitiveTo transform or change (something) into another form, substance, state, or product.

   A kettle converts water into steam.

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   1684-1690, Thomas Burnet, Sacred Theory of the Earth if the whole atmosphere were converted into water

   That ſtill leſſens / The ſorrow, and converts it nigh to joy.

   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

   Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: the ability to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy.

   2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist

2. transitiveTo change (something) from one use, function, or purpose to another.

   He converted his garden into a tennis court.

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   And the deff's further sayen that after the said b'gayn the said lambert compounded wt the said lychefeld ffor the moytie of the said Tymber stone glasse yren and tyle aforsaid by fforce whereof the said Lambert and Jane executrix of the testament of the said Thom's lychefeld haue broken and pulled down the stone walles & wyndoes of the said Churche dortr ffratr & cloyster & the same hath taken prceved & convertid to their p'per vses and behofe as lawfull was for the[m] to do by vertue of there said b'gayne & waraunt. All whiche mattrs the said def's ar redy to averre & p've as this hon'able cort shall award. And praye to be dysmyssed wt there resonable costs & charges for ther wrongfull vexac'on & trouble in this behalf.

   c. 1540-1553, John Hobson Matthews, editor, Augmentation proceedings: 1540-1553, volume 3, Cardiff Records, published 1901

   “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,[…].

   1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC

3. transitiveTo induce (someone) to adopt a particular religion, faith, ideology or belief (see also sense 12).

   They converted her to Roman Catholicism on her deathbed.

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   No attempt was made to convert the Moslems.

   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

   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.

   1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC

   One old chap on a huge slotting machine was intensely religious and made great efforts to convert every young man who came his way.

   1944 September and October, A Former Student, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—I”, in Railway Magazine, page 285

4. transitiveTo exchange for something of equal value.

   We converted our pounds into euros.

5. transitiveTo express (a quantity) in alternative units.
6. transitiveTo 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. transitivelawTo appropriate wrongfully or unlawfully; to commit the common law tort of conversion.

   The grand jury claims Terrigno "knowingly converted, for the benefit of herself and others, federal funds, which were intended to help the poor and homeless in the Los Angeles area."

   1985 December 14, Gordon Gottlieb, “L.A. Community Divided over Terrigno Indictment”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 22, page 10

8. ambitransitiveball gamesTo score extra points after (a try) by completing a conversion.

   Flood converted to leave Wales with a 23-9 deficit going into the final quarter.

   2011 February 4, Gareth Roberts, “Wales 19-26 England”, in BBC

9. American footballTo score extra points following a touchdown.

   Bass also kicked field goals of 40 and 49 yards, but he also missed a point-after try, which led to a 2-point conversion that the Bills converted later in the game.

   2024 November 3, Jon Scott, Tommy Gallagher, “61 yards to victory: Bills ride another 2nd-half surge, beat Dolphins”, in WGRZ

10. intransitivetransitiveball gamesTo score (especially a penalty kick).

    Hinton, inevitably, converted the penalty.

    2011, Jonathan Wilson, Brian Clough: The Biography, →ISBN

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    However, the lead was doubled after the break, when Branislav Ivanovic converted from close range after Fernando Torres had flicked on.

    2013, Mark Worrall, Kelvin Barker, David Johnstone, Making History, Not Reliving It: A Decade of Roman's Rule at Chelsea, →ISBN, page 225

    This time Polish goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski was Saints' penalty shootout hero, saving three spot kicks before centre-back Wayne Thomas converted from 12 yards to seal a 6-5 win.

    2016, Alex Crook, Alex Smith, Southampton Greatest Games: Saints' Fifty Finest Matches, →ISBN

11. intransitiveten-pin bowlingTo score a spare.
12. intransitiveTo undergo a conversion of religion, faith or belief (see also sense 3).

    We've converted to Methodism.

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    The notion of blood purity was first elaborated in Europe, where it was used to separate Old Christians from Spain’s New Christians—women and men of Jewish and Muslim origin whose ancestors had converted to Christianity.

    2009, Irene Silverblatt, “Foreword”, in Andrew B. Fisher, Matthew D. O'hara, editors, Imperial Subjects: Race and Identity in Colonial Latin America, page xi

    Her father had immigrated to Canada from India, while her mother had been born in Canada to a family that had converted from Hinduism to Jehovah’s Witnesses.

    2026 August 24, Sthitapragya Chakraborty, “Reena Virk, 14, Was Beaten by Teenagers in 1997. What Happened Next Became One of Canada’s Most Notorious Youth Crimes”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 25 Aug 2026

13. intransitiveTo become converted.

    The chair converts into a bed.

14. obsoletetransitiveTo cause to turn; to turn.

    O, which way shall I first convert myself?

    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

15. transitivehuman sciencesTo change (one proposition) into another, so that what was the subject of the first becomes the predicate of the second.
16. obsoletetransitiveTo turn into another language; to translate.

    which story[…]Catullus more elegantly converted

    1609, Ben Jonson, The Masque of Queens

17. transitiveball gamesTo 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.

    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.

    2006, Gillespie hails 'fairytale' knock, BBC

18. intransitivebusinessTo 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.

19. ambitransitiveboard gamesTo transform a material or positional advantage into a win.

    Black has survived the attack and is better due to his active king! Many moves later, he converted.

    2021, Frank Erwich, 1001 Chess Exercises for Advanced Club Players, New In Chess, →ISBN

    2 more examples

    On the final day Marshall won a pawn as Black from another old rival, Hodges, but couldn't convert it and played on until a drawn king-and-pawn endgame.

    1994, Andrew Soltis, Frank Marshall, United States Chess Champion, McFarland, Inc, →ISBN, page 262

    In a serious game, the same event often takes place: the attacking side, out of pure inertia, tries to convert an advantage which he or she no longer has, thus giving the defending side winning chances.

    2012, Daniel Naroditsky, Mastering Complex Endgames, New In Chess, →ISBN, page 56

plural converts

1. A person who has converted to a religion.

   They were all converts to Islam.

   1 more example

   While still in this relationship, Greene, a convert to Roman Catholicism at 23, was asked to be godfather to Catherine Walston, a 30-year-old married woman, at her own conversion.

   2004, Ted Jones, chapter 3, in The French Riviera: A Literary Guide for Travellers, Tauris Parke Paperbacks, published 2007, →ISBN, page 64

2. A person who is now in favour of something that they 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.

   A great advantage of these temporary conversions of a man into a beast is that it enables the convert in his animal shape to pay out his enemy without being suspected.

   1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 11, page 207

4. Canadianball gamesThe equivalent of a conversion in rugby