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

Police launched an extensive search for the suspects, ultimately focusing on gang members tied to catalytic converter thefts in the region.

From Los Angeles Times

He’s fresh out of prison, and trying going straight with a factory job manufacturing catalytic converters at Pluton Metals.

From Los Angeles Times

Police launched an extensive search for the suspects in the fatal shooting, ultimately focusing on gang members tied to catalytic converter thefts in the region.

From Los Angeles Times

Authorities say the men were jacking up Wactor’s car to steal its catalytic converter and he was shot after accosting them.

From Los Angeles Times

George Gascón will announce criminal charges Monday in the slaying of “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor, who was killed in May by men suspected of trying to steal the catalytic converter from his car.

From Los Angeles Times

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