I. kənˈvərt, -və̄t, -vəit, usu -d.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English converten, from Old French convertir, from Medieval Latin convertere, from Latin, to turn around, employ, transform, from com- + vertere to turn — more at worth
transitive verb
1.
a.
(1) : to bring over or persuade (a person or group) to a particular belief, view, course, party, or principle often from a previously held position
he was converted to the Copernican theory by … the professor of astronomy — S.F.Mason
convert young people to the pleasures of reading
an ex-Tory who … had gone to give a Socialist editor a good piece of her mind and come away converted — N.F.Busch
specifically : to bring over or persuade to the Christian faith
no attempt was made to convert the Moslems — W.H.Prescott
(2) : to bring about a spiritual conversion in (as a religious conversion in a person or group)
b.
(1) : to change or turn from one state to another : alter in form, substance, or quality : transform , transmute
sheepskins are converted into parchment
ideas … converted into deeds — John Mason Brown
(2) : to turn (iron) into steel by the Bessemer process : turn (matte) into copper : make (Bessemer steel) from iron : make (copper) from matte
(3) : to change the chemical nature of (as by changing starch into dextrose)
(4) : to finish (gray goods) by dyeing, bleaching, or printing
(5) : to score on (a try for point after touchdown in football or a free throw in basketball)
(6) : to process (paper) as by gumming or waxing ; also : to fabricate (paper) into finished products
convert paper into envelopes or paperboard into cartons
c.
(1) : to change or turn from one use, purpose, or function to another
converting some newly unpacked article … into a missile against the head of some unfortunate servant — T.L.Peacock
every possible industry was converted to produce war goods — Morris Sayre
(2) : to remodel in order to accommodate to a new manner of operation or change from one type to another
convert a coal furnace to oil
a trawler converted into a minesweeper
(3) : to appropriate dishonestly or illegally
converting to its own … use 80,000 bushels of corn stored for the Commodity Credit Corp. — Time
2.
a. obsolete : to cause to turn : turn , direct
which way shall I first convert myself — Ben Jonson
b. obsolete : to turn back : cause to return : turn in the opposite direction
3.
[Middle English converten, from Old French convertir, from Late Latin convertere to convert, from Latin, to turn around, transform]
a. obsolete : to translate into another language
which story … Catullus more elegantly converted — Ben Jonson
b. logic : to make a conversion of (a proposition)
c. : to exchange for a specified equivalent
convert stock holdings into cash
d. : to create a situation that causes (property of one nature) to be deemed in equity changed into property of another nature — compare conversion 3 d
e. : to exchange (one security) for another under a conversion privilege or an offer made by the issuer
f. : to turn (one type of money) into another in the market or merely for purposes of calculation
convert francs into dollars
g. : to exchange (an insurance policy) for one of a different type
intransitive verb
1. : to make or undergo a conversion : undergo physical, moral, or functional change
let grief convert to anger — Shakespeare
factories were converting to war production
a sofa that converts into a bed
2. : to make a score on a try for point or a free throw
Synonyms: see transform
II. ˈkänˌv- noun
( -s )
: a person or group that is converted to a religious faith or to a particular belief, attitude of mind or feeling, course, party, or principle
a convert and disciple of Saint Paul
the first American novelist to become a … convert to naturalism — Malcolm Cowley
especially : one who has experienced conversion