noun · verb · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/vɜːb/
US:/vɝb/
Canada:/vəɹb/
Canada:[vɚ(ɹ)b]
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)b
CMU ARPABET:V ER1 B
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
From Middle English verbe, directly from Latin verbum (“word, verb”), reinforced by Old French verbe, from Proto-Indo-European *werdho-. Doublet of verve and word.
Clipping of reverb.
Across languages
Translations
206 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
werkwoord
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Albanian:
folje
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Amharic:
ግሥ
(gəś)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Arabic:
فِعْل
(fiʕl)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Arabic:
فعل
(feʕl)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Aragonese:
berbo
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Aramaic:
ܡܠܬܐ
(miltā’)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Aramaic:
מלתא
(miltā’)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Armenian:
բայ
(bay)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Assamese:
ক্ৰিয়া
(kria)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Asturian:
verbu
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Aymara:
parliri
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Azerbaijani:
feʼl
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Azerbaijani:
feil
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Bashkir:
ҡылым
(qılım)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Basque:
aditz
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Belarusian:
дзеясло́ў
(dzjejaslów)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Bengali:
ক্রিয়াপদ
(kriẏapod)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Bengali:
ক্রিয়া
(kriẏa)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Central Bikol:
panhiro
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Breton:
verb
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Bulgarian:
глаго́л
(glagól)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Burmese:
ကြိယာ
(kri.ya)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Carpathian Rusyn:
часослово
(časoslovo)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Catalan:
verb
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Chechen:
хандош
(xandoš)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Chinese Cantonese:
動詞 /动词
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Hakka Chinese:
動詞 /动词
(thûng-chhṳ̀)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Chinese:
動詞 /动词
(zh-min-nan)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Chinese Mandarin:
動詞 /动词
(dòngcí)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Chuvash:
глагол
(glagol)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Crimean Tatar:
fiil
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Czech:
sloveso
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Czech:
verbum
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Danish:
udsagnsord
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Danish:
verbum
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Dhivehi:
ކއަނ
(kan)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Dutch:
werkwoord
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Erzya:
теввал
(tevval)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Erzya:
теемавал
(tejemaval)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Esperanto:
verbo
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Estonian:
tegusõna
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Estonian:
pöördsõna
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Estonian:
verb
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Ewe:
dɔwɔnya
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Faroese:
sagnorð
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Finnish:
verbi
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Finnish:
teonsana
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
French:
verbe
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
West-Frisian:
tiidwurd
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Galician:
verbo
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Georgian:
ზმნა
(zmna)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
German:
Verb
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
German:
Verbum
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
German:
Zeitwort
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
German:
Tätigkeitswort
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
German:
Wandelwort
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
German:
Tuwort
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
German:
Tunwort
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
German:
Aussagewort
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Middle High German:
wort
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
German:
Middle High German
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
German:
wort
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Old High German:
wort
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Greek:
ρήμα
(ríma)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Ancient Greek:
ῥῆμα
(rhêma)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Greenlandic:
oqaluut
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Gujarati:
ક્રિયાપદ
(kriyāpad)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Hausa:
fi'ili
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Hawaiian:
haʻina
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Hebrew:
פועל
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Hebrew:
פֹּעַל
(pó'al)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Hindi:
क्रिया
(kriyā)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Hindi:
क्रियापद
(kriyāpad)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Hungarian:
ige
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Icelandic:
sagnorð
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Icelandic:
sögn
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Ido:
verbo
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Igbo:
ngwaa
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Indonesian:
kata kerja
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Indonesian:
verba
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Interlingua:
verbo
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Irish:
briathar
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Italian:
verbo
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Japanese:
動詞
(dōshi)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Javanese:
kriyo
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Kabyle:
amyag
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Kalmyk:
үүлдәгч
(üüldägç)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Kannada:
ಕ್ರಿಯಾಪದ
(kriyāpada)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Kapampangan:
pangdiua
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Kapampangan:
paglindayug
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Kashmiri:
کرٛاوُت
(krāvut)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Kashubian:
czasnik
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Kazakh:
етістік
(etıstık)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Khmer:
កិរិយាស័ព្ទ
(keriyaasap)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Khmer:
កិរិយា
(keriyaa)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Korean:
동사
(dongsa)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Central Kurdish:
کردار
(kirdar)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Northern Kurdish:
lêker
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Northern Kurdish:
eylem
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Kyrgyz:
этиш
(etiş)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Lao:
ຄໍາກໍາມະ
(kham kam ma)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Lao:
ກິລິຍາ
(ki li nyā)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Latin:
verbum
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Latin:
verbum temporale
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Latvian:
darbības vārds
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Latvian:
verbs
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Latvian:
norisenis
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Ligurian:
vèrbo
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Limburgish:
wèrkwaord
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Limburgish:
vèrb
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Lingala:
likelelo
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Lithuanian:
veiksmažodis
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Low German:
Doonwoard
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Low German:
Verb
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Macedonian:
гла́гол
(glágol)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Malay:
kata kerja
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Malayalam:
ക്രിയ
(kriya)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Maltese:
verb
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Māori:
kupumahi
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Māori:
tūmahi
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Marathi:
क्रियापद
(kriyāpad)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Middle English:
verbe
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Mirandese:
berbo
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Mongolian:
үйл үг
(üjl üg)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Mongolian:
ᠦᠢᠯᠡ ᠦᠭᠡ
(üile üge)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Navajo:
áhátʼíinii
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Nepali:
क्रिया
(kriyā)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Newar:
यासु
(yāsu)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Norman:
vèrbe
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Norwegian Bokmål:
verb
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Norwegian Nynorsk:
verb
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Norwegian Nynorsk:
gjerningsord
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Occitan:
vèrb
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Odia:
କ୍ରିୟା
(kriyā)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Ojibwe:
doodamowi-ikidowin
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Old English:
word
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Ossetian:
мивдисӕг
(mivdisæg)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Pannonian Rusyn:
дїєслово
(djijeslovo)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Pannonian Rusyn:
часовнїк
(časovnjik)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Pashto:
فعل
(fe'l)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Dari:
فِعْل
(fi'l)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Iranian Persian:
فِعْل
(fe'l)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Polish:
czasownik
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Portuguese:
verbo
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Punjabi:
ਕਿਰਿਆ
(kiriā)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Quechua:
ruray rimana
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Romanian:
verb
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Russian:
глаго́л
(glagól)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Northern Sami:
vearba
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Southern Sami:
darjomebaakoe
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Southern Sami:
veerbe
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Samogitian:
veikruodis
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Sanskrit:
क्रिया
(kriyā)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Sanskrit:
क्रियापद
(kriyāpada)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Scots:
verb
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Scottish Gaelic:
gnìomhair
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Serbo-Croatian:
гла̏гол
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Serbo-Croatian:
glȁgol
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Sicilian:
verbu
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Sinhalese:
ක්රියා පද
(kriyā pada)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Sinhalese:
ක්රියාව
(kriyāwa)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Slovak:
sloveso
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Slovene:
glagol
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Somali:
fal
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Lower Sorbian:
werb
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Upper Sorbian:
werb
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Upper Sorbian:
słowjeso
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Spanish:
verbo
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Sundanese:
kecap pagawéan
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Swahili:
kitenzi
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Swazi:
sento
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Swedish:
verb
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Swedish:
handlingsord
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Swedish:
syssleord
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Tagalog:
pandiwa
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Tajik:
феъл
(fe'l)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Tamil:
வினைச்சொல்
(viṉaiccol)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Tamil:
வினை
(viṉai)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Tatar:
фигыль
(fiğel)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Telugu:
క్రియ
(kriya)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Thai:
คํากริยา
(grì-yaa)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Thai:
กริยา
(grì-yaa)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Tigrinya:
ግሲ
(gəsi)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Turkish:
fiil
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Turkish:
eylem
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Ottoman Turkish:
فعل
(fil, fiil)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Turkmen:
işlik
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Ukrainian:
дієсло́во
(dijeslóvo)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Urdu:
فِعْل
(fi'l)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Uyghur:
پېئىل
(pë'il)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Uzbek:
fe'l
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Venetan:
verbo
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Vietnamese:
động từ
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Volapük:
värb
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Walloon:
viebe
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Welsh:
berf
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Wolaytta:
peeshuwa
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Yiddish:
ווערב
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Yiddish:
צײַטוואָרט
(tsaytvort)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Yoruba:
ọ̀rọ̀-ìṣe
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Zazaki:
fiil (diq)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Zazaki:
kar (diq)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Zazaki:
wextqıse (diq)
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Zhuang:
dungswz
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
Zulu:
isenzo
— (grammar) a word that indicates an action, event, or a state
