Conquer Definition & Meaning

American

British

Idioms

Related Words

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms conquer American [kong-ker] / ˈkɒŋ kər /

verb (used with object)

1. to acquire by force of arms; win in war.

   to conquer a foreign land.

2. to overcome by force; subdue.

   to conquer an enemy.

   Synonyms: subjugate, overthrow, overpower, vanquish

3. to gain, win, or obtain by effort, personal appeal, etc..

   conquer the hearts of his audience.

4. to gain a victory over; surmount; master; overcome.

   to conquer disease and poverty; to conquer one's fear.

verb (used without object)

1. to be victorious; make conquests; gain the victory.

   Despite their differences, their love will conquer.

conquer British / ˈkɒŋkə /

verb

1. to overcome (an enemy, army, etc); defeat

2. to overcome (an obstacle, feeling, desire, etc); surmount

3. (tr) to gain possession or control of by or as if by force or war; win

4. (tr) to gain the love, sympathy, etc, of (someone) by seduction or force of personality

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 conquer Idioms

1. see divide and conquer.

Related Words

See defeat.

Other Word Forms

• conquerable adjective
• conquerableness noun
• conquering adjective
• conqueringly adverb
• conqueror noun
• half-conquered adjective
• preconquer verb (used with object)
• reconquer verb (used with object)
• unconquerable adjective
• unconquered adjective

Etymology

Origin of conquer

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English conqueren, from Anglo-French conquerir, Old French conquerre, from Vulgar Latin conquērere (unrecorded) “to acquire,” from Latin conquīrere “to seek out”; con-, query

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.

“Time to divide and conquer,” I said, handing one piece to each of the partner groups.

From Literature

"We need more of that too, because we need to connect again much more with people. We will need to conquer the hearts and minds again."

From Barron's

He would “conquer or die in the attempt!”

From Literature

With viewers set to find out if the pair's simmering forbidden love can conquer all, Australian actress Yerin Ha, who plays Sophie, tells Newsbeat that representing her community is all she's "ever wanted".

From BBC

This method was a frontal assault on the “divide and conquer” mentality, which used to mean specialization followed by integration.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• crush
• overthrow
• quell
• rout
• subdue
• subjugate
• surmount
• vanquish

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.