converge
/kənˈvəːdʒ
/verb [no object]
1(Of lines) tend to meet at a point: a pair of lines of longitude are parallel at the equator but converge toward the poles...
- The medium, whether air or water, flows smoothly over top and bottom, and the flow lines converge toward their initial spacing and position.
- While it seems self-apparent that parallel lines will never converge, later mathematicians were caught up in studying this particular axiom in more depth.
- It's where our main subway lines converge, where uptown meets downtown, where east meets west.
Synonyms
meet, intersect, cross, come together, connect, link up, coincide;
join, unite, merge
1.1Come together from different directions so as eventually to meet: convoys from America and the UK traversed thousands of miles to converge in the Atlantic...
- At the breakdown our back row would then be converging from two different directions.
- Pre-existing winds, those not created by the storm, are relatively light, converging or coming together near the surface from different directions.
- Because of these concerns converging together in recent weeks, anxiety about the direction of the country has escalated.
Synonyms
close in on, bear down on, descend on;
approach, draw near/nearer to, come close/closer to, move towards
1.2 (converge on/upon) Come from different directions and meet at (a place): half a million sports fans will converge on the capital for the London Marathon...
- You currently have all the blocks moving from different directions converging on the Arctic by large angles, yet the Arctic itself got bigger.
- Instead we spilled out of the coaches earlier and joined the throngs already converging on the city centre by foot.
- Masses of people converged on the city centre to a feast of entertainment and fun.
1.3(Of a number of things) gradually change so as to become similar or develop something in common: the aims of the two developments can and should converge...
- Based on a novel by Ruth Rendell, this compelling tale is told in neat subsections which gradually converge.
- Edgy technology converges with pop culture and creates a new kind of social connectivity.
- I am amazed by its astounding diversity where so many cultures converge in a spirit of oneness and harmony.
2 Mathematics (Of a series) approximate in the sum of its terms towards a definite limit: the powers of E therefore converge very slowly indeed...
- In fact, the sequence converges to a limit whose value is 2.7182818.
- Since these series converge very rapidly, they can be used to calculate the digits of [pi] and other numbers.
- This is an arduous task by hand with a series which converges as slowly as this.
Origin
Late 17th century: from late Latin convergere, from con- 'together' + Latin vergere 'incline'.