converter

or con·ver·tor

[ kuhn-vur-ter ]

noun

1. a person or thing that converts.
2. Electricity. a device that converts alternating current to direct current or vice versa. Compare inverter, synchronous converter.
3. Metallurgy. a chamber or vessel through which an oxidizing blast of air is forced, as in making steel by the Bessemer process.
4. Television. decoder ( def 5 ).
5. Radio and Television. an auxiliary device that permits a receiver to pick up frequencies or channels for which it was not originally designed.
6. Physics. a reactor for converting one kind of fuel into another kind.
7. a person who is engaged in converting textile fabrics, especially cotton cloths, from the raw state into the finished product ready for the market by bleaching, dyeing, etc.
8. Also called converter lens. Photography. an additional lens attached to a lens in use on a camera to alter focal length, mounted in front of a lens to produce a wide-angle effect wide-angle converter, or wide-angle converter lens or between the lens and the camera body to produce a telephoto effect teleconverter, or extender.

converter

/ kənˈvɜːtə /

noun

1. a person or thing that converts
2. physics
   1. a device for converting alternating current to direct current or vice versa
   2. a device for converting a signal from one frequency to another or from analogue to digital forms
3. a vessel in which molten metal is refined, using a blast of air or oxygen See also Bessemer converter L-D converter
4. short for converter reactor
5. computing a device for converting one form of coded information to another, such as an analogue-to-digital converter

converter

/ kən-vûr′tər /

1. An electrical device that changes the form of an electric signal or power source, as by converting alternating current to direct current, or an analog signal to a digital signal.
2. Compare rectifier
3. An electronic device that changes the frequency of a radio or other electromagnetic signal.

Word History and Origins

Origin of converter¹

First recorded in 1525–35; convert ¹ + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Both I and the Airstream dealer remained stumped on the cause, but I am open to the possibility that it was unreliable shore power from the campsite or perhaps a malfunctioning converter.

From Outside Online

This is likely due to the use of the external interface’s own analog-to-digital conversion rather than the converters inside the microphone, and the end results felt a touch bit more detailed on the high-frequency end.

From Popular-Science

A standing desk converter is basically a super-powered monitor stand.

From Popular-Science

It’s a less expensive option than buying a standing desk converter, but you don’t get a keyboard tray.

From Popular-Science

When you go tall, you give up some style—standing desk converters are bulky brutes.

From Popular-Science

With the converter in operation, the first step in the cycle was the evacuation of the ducts to a near-perfect vacuum.

From Project Gutenberg

He boosted me into the chamber of the converter and pointed out an opening near the top, about twelve by twenty-four inches.

From Project Gutenberg

The roaring flames, rushing from the mouth of the converter, changes its violet color to orange and finally to pure white.

From Project Gutenberg

To load or charge the converter it is tilted over somewhat to one side so that molten pig iron can be poured into it.

From Project Gutenberg

During the whole time that the metal is in the converter, from twenty to thirty minutes, no fuel is used to keep it hot.

From Project Gutenberg

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