verb
noun
Simple meaning
A content word that denotes an action, occurrence, or state of existence.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
vurbIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈvɝb
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
grammar
A content word that denotes an action, occurrence, or state of existence
grammar
A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being.
figurative
An action as opposed to a trait or thing.
programming
A named command that performs a specific operation on an object.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being.
Used this way, verb is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a grammar or language-study use: it describes how language works, so it appears in teaching and reference writing.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Academic writing
- Education/classroom
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use verb
- “The word "speak" is an English verb.”noun
- “Kindness is a verb, not an adjective. You're only kind if you do kind things.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Related to A content word that denotes an action, occurrence, or state of existence.
As a verb.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
One of the two main constituents of a sentence.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A noun that is derived from a verb.
Say it better
Looking for a more precise alternative? “verb” can mean several things.
He strode across the room.He hurried across the room.He darted across the room.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Related Learning
Guides that use this word in context.
Quick Lessons
Lay vs. Lie: How to Finally Keep Them Straight
An easy way to remember the difference between lay and lie, including past tense forms and common mix-ups.
Word Differences
Passed vs. Past: What’s the Difference?
Passed is always a verb form; past can be a noun, adjective, adverb or preposition. Here’s the quick test to tell them apart.
Word Differences
Breath vs. Breathe: What’s the Difference?
Breath is the noun (a deep breath); breathe is the verb (breathe deeply). Here’s how the spelling and sound tell them apart.
Use it yourself
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.