convene

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitiveformal

   Of people in an official group, to gather for a meeting or begin working together.

   Grammar: No object; often followed by at, in, or on a date: the council convenes at noon.

   Patterns

   • convene at a place
   • convene in a room
   • convene on a date

   The committee will convene after lunch in Room 4.

   Parliament convened under heavy security following the election.

   The judges convene every morning before opening arguments begin.

2. 2verbtransitiveformal

   To call people together for an official meeting or hearing.

   Grammar: Takes an object naming the group or meeting: convene a panel, not convene about a panel.

   Patterns

   • convene a committee
   • convene a court
   • convene an inquiry

   The mayor convened a panel to review the housing plan.

   School leaders convened an emergency meeting during the storm.

   The university convened a special court to hear the appeal.

Word forms

Common combinations

convene a meeting

The board will convene a meeting if costs rise again.

convene urgently

Health officials convened urgently after the outbreak was confirmed.

convene annually

The association convenes annually in a different city.

convene behind closed doors

The jury convened behind closed doors for three hours.

Synonyms and how they differ

meet

Meet is everyday and neutral; convene is formal and suggests an organized body starting official business.

assemble

Assemble stresses people gathering in one place, while convene stresses the formal purpose and start of proceedings.

summon

Summon means order someone to come and fits the transitive sense more than people convening by themselves.

Opposites

Word family

convention noun

A formal gathering or an accepted practice.

convening noun

The act of calling or coming together for business.

Commonly confused: convene or convent?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “convene”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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