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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
prove

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

prove    Audio Help   (prōōv)  Pronunciation Key  v.   proved, proved or prov·en (prōō'vən), prov·ing, proves v.   tr. To establish the truth or validity of by presentation of argument or evidence. Law To establish the authenticity of (a will). To determine the quality of by testing; try out. Mathematics To demonstrate the validity of (a hypothesis or proposition). To verify (the result of a calculation). Printing To make a sample impression of (type). Archaic To find out or learn (something) through experience. v.   intr. To be shown to be such; turn out: a theory that proved impractical in practice. Phrasal Verb(s): prove out To turn out well; succeed. [Middle English proven, from Old French prover, from Latin probāre, to test, from probus, good; see per1 in Indo-European roots.] prov'a·bil'i·ty, prov'a·ble·ness n., prov'a·ble adj., prov'a·bly adv., prov'en·ly adv., prov'er n. Usage Note: Prove has two past participles: proved and proven. Proved is the older form. Proven is a variant. The Middle English spellings of prove included preven, a form that died out in England but survived in Scotland, and the past participle proven, a form that probably rose by analogy with verbs like weave, woven and cleave, cloven. Proven was originally used in Scottish legal contexts, such as The jury ruled that the charges were not proven. In the 20th century, proven has made inroads into the territory once dominated by proved, so that now the two forms compete on equal footing as participles. However, when used as an adjective before a noun, proven is now the more common word: a proven talent.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
prove 

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

prove
verb
1.	be shown or be found to be; "She proved to be right"; "The medicine turned out to save her life"; "She turned up HIV positive"
2.	establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment; "The experiment demonstrated the instability of the compound"; "The mathematician showed the validity of the conjecture" [ant: confute]
3.	provide evidence for; "The blood test showed that he was the father"; "Her behavior testified to her incompetence" [syn: testify]
4.	prove formally; demonstrate by a mathematical, formal proof
5.	put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to; "This approach has been tried with good results"; "Test this recipe" [syn: test]
6.	increase in volume; "the dough rose slowly in the warm room" [syn: rise]
7.	cause to puff up with a leaven; "unleavened bread" [syn: raise]
8.	take a trial impression of
9.	obtain probate of; "prove a will"

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.

American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

prove

In addition to the idiom beginning with prove, also see exception proves the rule.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
prove1 [pruːv] verb
prove2 [pruːv] verb
See also: proven

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: prove
Pronunciation: 'prüv
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: proved; proved or prov·en /'prü-v&n/; prov·ing
1 : to test the truth, validity, or genuineness of <prove a will at probate>
2 a : to establish the existence, truth, or validity of <the charges were never proved in court> b : to provide sufficient proof of or that <proved the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt> —prov·able /'prü-v&-b&l/ adjective —prov·able·ness noun —prov·ably /'prü-v&-blE/ adverb

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Prove

Ap*prove"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Approved; p. pr. & vb. n. Approving.] [OE. aproven, appreven, to prove, OF. aprover, F. approuver, to approve, fr. L. approbare; ad + probare to esteem as good, approve, prove. See Prove, and cf. Approbate.]

1. To show to be real or true; to prove. [Obs.]

Wouldst thou approve thy constancy? Approve First thy obedience. --Milton.

2. To make proof of; to demonstrate; to prove or show practically.

Opportunities to approve . . . worth. --Emerson.

He had approved himself a great warrior. --Macaulay.

'T is an old lesson; Time approves it true. --Byron.

His account . . . approves him a man of thought. --Parkman.

3. To sanction officially; to ratify; to confirm; as, to approve the decision of a court-martial.

4. To regard as good; to commend; to be pleased with; to think well of; as, we approve the measured of the administration.

5. To make or show to be worthy of approbation or acceptance.

The first care and concern must be to approve himself to God. --Rogers.

Note: This word, when it signifies to be pleased with, to think favorably (of), is often followed by of.

They had not approved of the deposition of James. --Macaulay.

They approved of the political institutions. --W. Black.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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Prove

Prob"a*ble\, a. [L. probabilis, fr. probare to try, approve, prove: cf. F. probable. See Prove, and cf. Provable.]

1. Capable of being proved. [Obs.]

2. Having more evidence for than against; supported by evidence which inclines the mind to believe, but leaves some room for doubt; likely.

That is accounted probable which has better arguments producible for it than can be brought against it. --South.

I do not say that the principles of religion are merely probable; I have before asserted them to be morally certain. --Bp. Wilkins.

3. Rendering probable; supporting, or giving ground for, belief, but not demonstrating; as, probable evidence; probable presumption. --Blackstone.

Probable cause (Law), a reasonable ground of presumption that a charge is, or my be, well founded.

Probable error (of an observation, or of the mean of a number), that within which, taken positively and negatively, there is an even chance that the real error shall lie. Thus, if 3[sec] is the probable error in a given case, the chances that the real error is greater than 3[sec] are equal to the chances that it is less. The probable error is computed from the observations made, and is used to express their degree of accuracy.

The probable, that which is within the bounds of probability; that which is not unnatural or preternatural; -- opposed to the marvelous.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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Prove

Pro"bate\, n. [From L. probatus, p. p. of probare to prove. See Prove.]

1. Proof. [Obs.] --Skelton.

2. (Law) (a) Official proof; especially, the proof before a competent officer or tribunal that an instrument offered, purporting to be the last will and testament of a person deceased, is indeed his lawful act; the copy of a will proved, under the seal of the Court of Probate, delivered to the executors with a certificate of its having been proved. --Bouvier. --Burrill. (b) The right or jurisdiction of proving wills.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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Prove

Pro*ba"tion\, n. [L. probatio, fr. probare to try, examine, prove: cf. F. probation. See Prove.]

1. The act of proving; also, that which proves anything; proof. [Obs.]

When by miracle God dispensed great gifts to the laity, . . . he gave probation that he intended that all should prophesy and preach. --Jer. Taylor.

2. Any proceeding designed to ascertain truth, to determine character, qualification, etc.; examination; trial; as, to engage a person on probation. Hence, specifically: (a) The novitiate which a person must pass in a convent, to probe his or her virtue and ability to bear the severities of the rule. (b) The trial of a ministerial candidate's qualifications prior to his ordination, or to his settlement as a pastor. (c) Moral trial; the state of man in the present life, in which he has the opportunity of proving his character, and becoming qualified for a happier state.

No [view of human life] seems so reasonable as that which regards it as a state of probation. --Paley.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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Prove

Probe\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Probed; p. pr. & vb. n. Probing.] [L. probare to try, examine. See Prove.]

1. To examine, as a wound, an ulcer, or some cavity of the body, with a probe.

2. Fig.: to search to the bottom; to scrutinize or examine thoroughly. --Dryden.

The growing disposition to probe the legality of all acts, of the crown. --Hallam.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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Prove

Prob"i*ty\, n. [F. probit['e], fr. L. probitas, fr. probus good, proper, honest. Cf. Prove.] Tried virtue or integrity; approved moral excellence; honesty; rectitude; uprightness. "Probity of mind." --Pope.

Syn: Probity, Integrity.

Usage: Probity denotes unimpeachable honesty and virtue, shown especially by the performance of those obligations, called imperfect, which the laws of the state do not reach, and can not enforce. Integrity denotes a whole-hearted honesty, and especially that which excludes all injustice that might favor one's self. It has a peculiar reference to uprightness in mutual dealings, transfer of property, and the execution of trusts for others.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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Prove

Proof\, n. [OF. prove, proeve, F. preuve, fr. L. proba, fr. probare to prove. See Prove.]

1. Any effort, process, or operation designed to establish or discover a fact or truth; an act of testing; a test; a trial.

For whatsoever mother wit or art Could work, he put in proof. --Spenser.

You shall have many proofs to show your skill. --Ford.

Formerly, a very rude mode of ascertaining the strength of spirits was practiced, called the proof. --Ure.

2. That degree of evidence which convinces the mind of any truth or fact, and produces belief; a test by facts or arguments that induce, or tend to induce, certainty of the judgment; conclusive evidence; demonstration.

I'll have some proof. --Shak.

It is no proof of a man's understanding to be able to confirm whatever he pleases. --Emerson.

Note: Properly speaking, proof is the effect or result of evidence, evidence is the medium of proof. Cf. Demonstration, 1.

3. The quality or state of having been proved or tried; firmness or hardness that resists impression, or does not yield to force; impenetrability of physical bodies.

4. Firmness of mind; stability not to be shaken.

5. (Print.) A trial impression, as from type, taken for correction or examination; -- called also proof sheet.

6. (Math.) A process for testing the accuracy of an operation performed. Cf. Prove, v. t., 5.

7. Armor of excellent or tried quality, and deemed impenetrable; properly, armor of proof. [Obs.] --Shak.

Artist's proof, a very early proof impression of an engraving, or the like; -- often distinguished by the artist's signature.

Proof reader, one who reads, and marks correction in, proofs. See def. 5, above.

Syn: Testimony; evidence; reason; argument; trial; demonstration. See Testimony.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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Prove

Proof\, n. [OF. prove, proeve, F. preuve, fr. L. proba, fr. probare to prove. See Prove.]

1. Any effort, process, or operation designed to establish or discover a fact or truth; an act of testing; a test; a trial.

For whatsoever mother wit or art Could work, he put in proof. --Spenser.

You shall have many proofs to show your skill. --Ford.

Formerly, a very rude mode of ascertaining the strength of spirits was practiced, called the proof. --Ure.

2. That degree of evidence which convinces the mind of any truth or fact, and produces belief; a test by facts or arguments that induce, or tend to induce, certainty of the judgment; conclusive evidence; demonstration.

I'll have some proof. --Shak.

It is no proof of a man's understanding to be able to confirm whatever he pleases. --Emerson.

Note: Properly speaking, proof is the effect or result of evidence, evidence is the medium of proof. Cf. Demonstration, 1.

3. The quality or state of having been proved or tried; firmness or hardness that resists impression, or does not yield to force; impenetrability of physical bodies.

4. Firmness of mind; stability not to be shaken.

5. (Print.) A trial impression, as from type, taken for correction or examination; -- called also proof sheet.

6. (Math.) A process for testing the accuracy of an operation performed. Cf. Prove, v. t., 5.

7. Armor of excellent or tried quality, and deemed impenetrable; properly, armor of proof. [Obs.] --Shak.

Artist's proof, a very early proof impression of an engraving, or the like; -- often distinguished by the artist's signature.

Proof reader, one who reads, and marks correction in, proofs. See def. 5, above.

Syn: Testimony; evidence; reason; argument; trial; demonstration. See Testimony.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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Prove

Prov"a*ble\, a. [See Prove, and cf. Probable.] Capable of being proved; demonstrable. -- Prov"a*ble*ness, n. -- Prov"a*bly, adv.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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Prove

Prove\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Proved; p. pr. & vb. n. Proving.] [OE. prover, F. prouver, fr. L. probare to try, approve, prove, fr. probus good, proper. Cf. Probable, Proof, Probe.]

1. To try or to ascertain by an experiment, or by a test or standard; to test; as, to prove the strength of gunpowder or of ordnance; to prove the contents of a vessel by a standard measure.

Thou hast proved mine heart. --Ps. xvii. 3.

2. To evince, establish, or ascertain, as truth, reality, or fact, by argument, testimony, or other evidence.

They have inferred much from slender premises, and conjectured when they could not prove. --J. H. Newman.

3. To ascertain or establish the genuineness or validity of; to verify; as, to prove a will.

4. To gain experience of the good or evil of; to know by trial; to experience; to suffer.

Where she, captived long, great woes did prove. --Spenser.

5. (Arith.) To test, evince, ascertain, or verify, as the correctness of any operation or result; thus, in subtraction, if the difference between two numbers, added to the lesser number, makes a sum equal to the greater, the correctness of the subtraction is proved.

6. (Printing) To take a trial impression of; to take a proof of; as, to prove a page.

Syn: To try; verify; justify; confirm; establish; evince; manifest; show; demonstrate.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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Prove

Prove\, v. i. 1. To make trial; to essay.

2. To be found by experience, trial, or result; to turn out to be; as, a medicine proves salutary; the report proves false. "The case proves mortal." --Arbuthnot.

So life a winter's morn may prove. --Keble.

3. To succeed; to turn out as expected. [Obs.] "The experiment proved not." --Bacon.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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Prove

Re*prieve\ (r?-pr?v"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Reprieved (-pr?vd"); p. pr. & vb. n. Reprieving.] [OE. repreven to reject, disallow, OF. reprover to blame, reproach, condemn (pres. il reprueve), F. r['e]prouver to disapprove, fr. L. reprobare to reject, condemn; pref. re- re- + probare to try, prove. See Prove, and cf. Reprove, Reprobate.]

1. To delay the punishment of; to suspend the execution of sentence on; to give a respite to; to respite; as, to reprieve a criminal for thirty days.

He reprieves the sinnner from time to time. --Rogers.

2. To relieve for a time, or temporarily.

Company, thought it may reprieve a man from his melaneholy yet can not secure him from his conscience. --South.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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