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
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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
Literary Hub19 Mar. 2026
By the 1940sX was also used as a verbmeaning to cross out with an Xsays Harper.
—James DoubekNPR17 Mar. 2026
The neuromodulator brand has become a nouna verband a cultural lynchpin.
—Fiorella ValdesoloAllure3 Mar. 2026
The phrase began as a chant at a 2021 NASCAR racewhere a reporter misinterpreted both the verb and the name addressed to Biden.
—Bart JansenUSA Today22 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for verb
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When Body Parts Are Also Verbs
Headshouldersmetaphorsand toes
Cite this Entry
“Verb.” Merriam-Webster.com DictionaryMerriam-Websterhttps://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/verb. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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verb
noun
