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Verb - 5 dictionary results

verb

  [vurb] ,
Use Verb in a Sentence
–noun
any member of a class of words that are formally distinguished in many languages, as in English by taking the past ending in -ed, that function as the main elements of predicates, that typically express action, state, or a relation between two things, and that (when inflected) may be inflected for tense, aspect, voice, mood, and to show agreement with their subject or object.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME verbe < L verbum word

Related forms:
verbless, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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verb   (vûrb)   
n.  
  1. Abbr. V or vb.
    1. The part of speech that expresses existence, action, or occurrence in most languages.
    2. Any of the words belonging to this part of speech, as be, run, or conceive.
  2. A phrase or other construction used as a verb.

[Middle English verbe, from Old French, from Latin verbum, word, verb (translation of Greek rhēma, word, verb); see wer-5 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Verb

Verb\, n. [F. verbe, L. verbum a word, verb. See Word.]

1. A word; a vocable. [Obs.] --South.

2. (Gram.) A word which affirms or predicates something of some person or thing; a part of speech expressing being, action, or the suffering of action.

Note: A verb is a word whereby the chief action of the mind [the assertion or the denial of a proposition] finds expression. --Earle.

Active verb, Auxiliary verb, Neuter verb, etc. See Active, Auxiliary, Neuter, etc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Verb
Spanish: verbo,
German: das Verb,
Japanese: 動詞
More Translations »

verb

A word that represents an action or a state of being. Go, strike, travel, and exist are examples of verbs. A verb is the essential part of the predicate of a sentence. The grammatical forms of verbs include number, person, and tense. (See auxiliary verb, infinitive, intransitive verb, irregular verb, participle, regular verb, and transitive verb.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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verb 
1388, from O.Fr. verbe "part of speech that expresses action or being," from L. verbum "verb," originally "a word," from PIE base *were- (cf. Avestan urvata- "command;" Skt. vrata- "command, vow;" Gk. rhetor "public speaker," rhetra "agreement, covenant," eirein "to speak, say;" Hittite weriga- "call, summon;" Lith. vardas "name;" Goth. waurd, O.E. word "word").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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