convene

play

verb con·vene \kən-ˈvēn\

Definition of convene

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

convenor

play \kən-ˈvē-nər\ noun

See convene defined for English-language learners

See convene defined for kids

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 of convene from the Web

Nearly 100% of voters rejected a plan by the president, Nicolás Maduro, to convene a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution.

— The Economist, "Politics this week," 20 July 2017
OSTP also provides a source of people to be at the table during discussions convened by other White House bodies.

— jeffrey mervis, Science | AAAS, "Q&A: Former Obama science adviser John Holdren on the White House science office and Trump’s science policy," 12 July 2017
Over the weekend, Sanders will convene protests in Kentucky and West Virginia, where the Vermont senator plans to call on his Republican colleague Shelley Moore Capito to oppose her party’s bill.

— clare foran, The Atlantic, "Can Liberal Activists Keep Attention on the Republican Health-Care Bill?," 6 July 2017
Economic adviser Gary Cohn and other officials on the National Economic Council have convened several meetings with him to explain differences between the House and Senate bills.

— julie pace, The Seattle Times, "GOP ponders whether Trump helps sell health care," 29 June 2017
Its release comes as the Justice Department convenes a meeting on Thursday with local law enforcement officials and experts to discuss hate crimes, including a lack of solid data on the problem nationwide.

— Bloomberg.com, "More Than Half of Hate Crimes in U.S. Go Unreported: Report," 29 June 2017
Its release comes as the Justice Department convenes a meeting on Thursday with local law enforcement officials and experts to discuss hate crimes, including a lack of solid data on the problem nationwide.

— sadie gurman and russell contreras, chicagotribune.com, "Report: More than half of hate crimes in U.S. go unreported," 29 June 2017
Its release comes as the Justice Department convenes a meeting on Thursday with local law enforcement officials and experts to discuss hate crimes, including a lack of solid data on the problem nationwide.

— russell contreras, The Seattle Times, "Report: More than half of hate crimes in US go unreported," 28 June 2017
The Child Poverty Collaborative, an initiative convened by Mayor John Cranley, posted a job description for a new executive director Monday.

— mariel padilla, Cincinnati.com, "Child Poverty Collaborative looking for new executive director," 27 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'convene.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of convene

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

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First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of 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

CONVENE Defined for English Language Learners

convene

play

verb

Definition of convene for English Language Learners

: to come together in a group for a meeting

CONVENE Defined for Kids

convene

play

verb con·vene \kən-ˈvēn\

Definition of convene for Students

convened

;

convening

: to come or bring together as an assembly The legislature convened on Tuesday. The teacher convened the class.

Word Root of convene

The Latin word venīre, meaning “to come,” and its form ventus give us the roots ven and vent. Words from the Latin venīre have something to do with coming. To invent is to come up with a new idea or device that no one has thought of before. To convene is to come together for a purpose. An event is an occasion when many people come together.