convert

noun

person who joins a new religious faith

L11313 on Wikidata ↗

verb

transform

L232 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈkɒn.vət/ / [ˈkʰɒɱ.vət] / /ˈkɑn.vɚt/ / /kənˈvɜːt/ / [kʰə̥ɱˈvɜːt] / /kənˈvɝt/

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Proto-Indo-European *wert- Proto-Indo-European *wértetor Proto-Italic *wertō Proto-Italic *komwertō Latin convertōder. Old French convertirbor. Middle English converten English convert From Middle English converten, from Old French convertir, from Latin converto (“turn around”).

A person who has converted to a religion.
“They were all converts to Islam.”
“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.”
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!”
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.”
The equivalent of a conversion in rugby

verb

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”
To change (something) from one use, function, or purpose to another.
“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.”
“He converted his garden into a tennis court.”
To induce (someone) to adopt a particular religion, faith, ideology or belief (see also sense 12).
“They converted her to Roman Catholicism on her deathbed.”
“No attempt was made to convert the Moslems.”
To exchange for something of equal value.
“We converted our pounds into euros.”
To express (a quantity) in alternative units.
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?”
To 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."”
To 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.”
To 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.”
To score (especially a penalty kick).
“Hinton, inevitably, converted the penalty.”
“However, the lead was doubled after the break, when Branislav Ivanovic converted from close range after Fernando Torres had flicked on.”
To score a spare.
To undergo a conversion of religion, faith or belief (see also sense 3).
“We've converted to Methodism.”
“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.”
To become converted.
“The chair converts into a bed.”
To cause to turn; to turn.
“O, which way shall I first convert myself?”
To change (one proposition) into another, so that what was the subject of the first becomes the predicate of the second.
To turn into another language; to translate.
“which story[…]Catullus more elegantly converted”
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.
“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.”
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.”
To transform a material or positional advantage into a win.
“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.”
“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.”