Note: In various languagesverbs take different forms (or inflections) to convey different kinds of grammatical information (such as tensevoicemoodand aspect) and to agree grammatically (as in number and person) with the subject of a sentence.
James KilpatrickTheodore M. Bernstein
Did you know?
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 calllovebreakand 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: callinglovingbreakinggoing. (There is also a kind of nouncalled a gerundthat is identical in form to the present participle form of a verb.) The past participle usually ends in -edbut many past participles have irregular endings: calledlovedbrokengone.
The verb's past tense usually has the same -ed form as the past participle. For many verbshoweverthe past tense is irregular. An irregular past tense is not always identical to an irregular past participle: calledlovedbrokewent.
The two main kinds of verbstransitive verbs and intransitive verbsare discussed at the entries for transitive and intransitive.
Examples of verb in a Sentence
Scott NeumanNPR4 Feb. 2026
And then there’s the cuteness of its progression indicator—verbs like crunchingmoseyingperusingreticulatingdiscombobulating and zesting.
—Deni Ellis BéchardScientific American31 Jan. 2026
Reality isin essenceall verb.
—Christian WimanHarpers Magazine30 Dec. 2025
Thenthere is linguistic play with parts of speech—nouns recently converted to verbsverbs used as adjectives.
—Louis MenandNew Yorker22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for verb
Video
When Body Parts Are Also Verbs
Headshouldersmetaphorsand toes
Cite this Entry
“Verb.” Merriam-Webster.com DictionaryMerriam-Websterhttps://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/verb. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
verb
noun
