| a verb that indicates a complete action without being accompanied by a direct object, as sit or lie, and, in English, that does not form a passive. |
A verb that does not need a direct object to complete its meaning. Run, sleep, travel, wonder, and die are all intransitive verbs. (Compare transitive verb.)
Note: Some verbs can be intransitive in one sentence and transitive in another. Boiled is intransitive in “My blood boiled” but transitive in “I boiled some water.”