verb

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noun

plural verbs
: a word (such as jump, happen, or exist) that functions as the main word of the predicate of a sentence and expresses an act, occurrence, or state of being or that is used with another verb as an auxiliary see also linking verb, phrasal verb, pro-verb

Note: In various languages, verbs take different forms (or inflections) to convey different kinds of grammatical information (such as tense, voice, mood, and aspect) and to agree grammatically (as in number and person) with the subject of a sentence.

verbless adjective

verb

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verb

verbed; verbing

transitive verb

: to use (a word and especially a noun) as a verb : to make (a word) into a verb
A television announcer in Vero Beach, Fla., spoke of a promise "to upkeep the beach," thus verbing a word that had been in use as an honest noun since 1884.James Kilpatrick
But it is by no means unusual for a noun to be verbed.Theodore M. Bernstein

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What is a verb?

Verbs are words that show an action (sing), occurrence (develop), or state of being (exist). Almost every sentence requires a verb. The basic form of a verb is known as its infinitive. The forms call, love, break, and go are all infinitives.

Almost all verbs have two other important forms called participles. Participles are forms that are used to create several verb tenses (forms that are used to show when an action happened); they can also be used as adjectives. The present participle always ends in -ing: calling, loving, breaking, going. (There is also a kind of noun, called a gerund, that is identical in form to the present participle form of a verb.) The past participle usually ends in -ed, but many past participles have irregular endings: called, loved, broken, gone.

The verb's past tense usually has the same -ed form as the past participle. For many verbs, however, the past tense is irregular. An irregular past tense is not always identical to an irregular past participle: called, loved, broke, went.

The two main kinds of verbs, transitive verbs and intransitive verbs, are discussed at the entries for transitive and intransitive.

Examples of verb in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Noun
The term then later evolved into a verb in the 1950s, often used to mean a refusal of service to a customer. Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 16 May 2025 He’s covered such developments as the evolution of the cell phone from 1G to 5G, the fall and rise of Apple, Google’s growth from obscure Yahoo rival to verb status, and the transformation of social media from CompuServe forums to Facebook’s billions of users. Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 13 May 2025 This halting, haunted recitation, almost like the conjugation of an unfamiliar verb, speaks to Li’s state more precisely than anything else in the book. Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025 Words came to my mind that illuminated the images, and the images trailed jangling verbs behind them. Domenico Starnone, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for verb

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English verbe, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin verbum "word, verb" — more at word entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1928, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of verb was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Verb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/verb. Accessed 24 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

verb

noun
: a word that is usually the grammatical center of a predicate and expresses an act, occurrence, or state of being and that in various languages is inflected (as for agreement with the subject or for tense)

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