convene

verb

con·​vene kən-ˈvēn 

convened; convening

intransitive verb

: to come together in a body

We convened at the hotel for a seminar.

transitive verb

1

: to summon before a tribunal

2

: to cause to assemble

A world council was convened in Paris.

convener noun

or convenor

kən-ˈvē-nər 

Synonyms

• assemble
• call
• convoke
• muster
• summon

Choose the Right Synonym for convene

summon, call, cite, convoke, convene, muster mean to demand the presence of.

summon implies the exercise of authority.

was summoned to answer charges

call may be used less formally for summon.

called the legislature into special session

cite implies a summoning to court usually to answer a charge.

cited for drunken driving

convoke implies a summons to assemble for deliberative or legislative purposes.

convoked a Vatican council

convene is somewhat less formal than convoke.

convened the students

muster suggests a calling up of a number of things that form a group in order that they may be exhibited, displayed, or utilized as a whole.

mustered the troops

Examples of convene in a Sentence

We convened at the hotel for a seminar.

This class convenes twice a week.

A panel of investigators was convened by the president to review the case.

Recent Examples on the Web

While the administration has so far avoided direct military engagement, U.S. officials confirmed that the USS Nimitz carrier strike group has been deployed to the region, and Trump convened his National Security Council to discuss possible options. —Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 June 2025

Before planning sprints or writing any code, convene all your leads—cloud, data, AI and automation—and co-create a high-level architecture that shows how systems will interact. —Navdeep Malik, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025

Trump yesterday convened a meeting with his national security team. —Steve Inskeep, NPR, 18 June 2025

Documentary Best Documentary Feature Natchez, director Suzannah Herbert (United States) – World Premiere At an antebellum home in Natchez, Mississippi, a group of older women convene as members of the local Garden Club. —Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 12 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Medieval Latin convenire, from Latin, to assemble — more at convenient

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for convene

• agin
• alkene
• allene
• ameen
• amin
• amine
• arene
• athene
• baleen
• beeline
• benzene
• between

Kids Definition

convene

verb

con·​vene kən-ˈvēn 

convened; convening

1

: to come together in a group : assemble

2

: to cause to convene : call together

convened a meeting