conns

verb

variants also cons
present tense third-person singular of conn
as in pilots
to operate or control the course of there was white-knuckle tension as the captain conned the gunboat through the mine-infested harbor

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of conns Keith arrests our thinking, and cons us into suppressing our critical faculties with the same kind of internalized surveillance that philosopher Michel Foucault broke down to describe a prison’s use of the panopticon in Discipline and Punish. — Literary Hub, 19 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conns
  1. pilots
  2. steers
Verb
  • Heath pilots a fighter jet, deploys bombs in foreign countries, and thwarts cyberattacks, all after remarkably cursory and casual conversations with a government official.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Manuel Varela, who also pilots Goodie, says the drone has switchable nozzles for whatever the cleaning job calls for.
    — Delia Rose Sauer, Miami Herald, 15 July 2026
Definition of pilots
Verb
  • In the carousel of images, Yarmosky, 39, steers the boat and smiles as the pair enjoy some quality time together.
    — Jennifer Hassan, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The approach does not have the same oversight, services or safeguards in place as the traditional foster care system, which also steers kids to live with family members.
    — Romy Ellenbogen Herald, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of steers

Browse Nearby Words

connoting
conns
connubial
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Conns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conns. Accessed 15 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of quorum

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All