noun · verb · 14 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
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
vûrs
UK:/vɜːs/
General-American:/ˈvɝs/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈvɜːs/
US:/vɜrs/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)s
CMU ARPABET:V ER1 S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
Restoration literature is well known for its carefully constructed verse.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: poetry
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Poetic form in general.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
The restrictions of verse have steadily been relaxed over time.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
One of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
Note the shift in tone between the first verse and the second.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: stanza
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A small section of a holy book (Bible, Quran etc.)
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
A portion of an anthem to be performed by a single voice to each part.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
verb
Meaning 6
To compose verses.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
verb
Meaning 7
To tell in verse, or poetry.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
verb
Meaning 8
to educate about, to teach about.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively, transitive
Examples
He versed us in the finer points of category theory.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
9
verb
Meaning 9
To oppose, to compete against.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: colloquial, proscribed, sometimes
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
10
noun
Meaning 10
a piece of poetry
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
From Middle English vers, from a mixture of Old English fers and Old French vers; both from Latin versus (“a line in writing, and in poetry a verse; (originally) row, furrow”), from vertō (“to turn around”).
Back-formation from versus, misconstrued as a third-person singular verb verses.
Across languages
Translations
158 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
نَظْم
(naẓm)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Armenian:
չափածո
(čʻapʻaco)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Belarusian:
верш
(vjerš)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Bengali:
পদ্য
(poddo)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Bulgarian:
стих
(stih)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Carpathian Rusyn:
верш
(verš)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Carpathian Rusyn:
стих
(styx)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Catalan:
vers
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Chinese Mandarin:
詩 /诗
(shī)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Czech:
verš
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Danish:
vers
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Dutch:
vers
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Esperanto:
verso
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Finnish:
säe
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Finnish:
säkeistö
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
French:
vers
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Galician:
verso
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Georgian:
ლექსი
(leksi)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
German:
Vers
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Greek:
στίχος
(stíchos)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Hebrew:
שִׁירָה
(širá)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Hindi:
छंद
(chand)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Hungarian:
vers
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Ido:
verso
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Irish:
véarsaíocht
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Italian:
verso
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Central Kurdish:
ھەڵبەست
(hellbest)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Macedonian:
стих
(stih)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Norwegian:
vers
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Persian:
مصرع
(mesra')
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Polish:
wiersz
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Portuguese:
verso
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Romagnol:
virs
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Romanian:
vers
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Romanian:
stih
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Russian:
стих
(stix)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Serbo-Croatian:
стих
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Serbo-Croatian:
верс
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Serbo-Croatian:
stih
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Serbo-Croatian:
vers
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Slovak:
verš
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Slovene:
verz
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Slovene:
stih
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Spanish:
versículo
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Spanish:
verso
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Swedish:
vers
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Tamil:
பா
(pā)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Telugu:
పద్యము
(padyamu)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Turkish:
ayet
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Ukrainian:
вірш
(virš)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Volapük:
setül
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Welsh:
adnod
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Yakut:
хоһоон
(qohoon)
— poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme
Armenian:
չափածո
(čʻapʻaco)
— poetic form in general
Bulgarian:
поезия
(poezija)
— poetic form in general
Czech:
verš
— poetic form in general
Czech:
verše
— poetic form in general
Czech:
poezie
— poetic form in general
Finnish:
runous
— poetic form in general
Galician:
verso
— poetic form in general
Georgian:
ლექსი
(leksi)
— poetic form in general
Greek:
στίχος
(stíchos)
— poetic form in general
Hebrew:
שירה
(shirá)
— poetic form in general
Hindi:
कविता
(kavitā)
— poetic form in general
Irish:
véarsaíocht
— poetic form in general
Macedonian:
стих
(stih)
— poetic form in general
Macedonian:
верс
(vers)
— poetic form in general
Middle English:
vers
— poetic form in general
Persian:
نظم
(nazm)
— poetic form in general
Portuguese:
verso
— poetic form in general
Russian:
стих
(stix)
— poetic form in general
Serbo-Croatian:
стих
— poetic form in general
Serbo-Croatian:
верс
— poetic form in general
Serbo-Croatian:
stih
— poetic form in general
Serbo-Croatian:
vers
— poetic form in general
Spanish:
verso
— poetic form in general
Tamil:
பா
(pā)
— poetic form in general
Ukrainian:
пое́ма
(poéma)
— poetic form in general
Ukrainian:
пое́зія
(poézija)
— poetic form in general
Arabic:
بَيْت
(bayt)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Armenian:
տուն
(tun)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Bulgarian:
строфа
(strofa)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Chinese Mandarin:
詩句 /诗句
(shījù)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Danish:
strofe
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Danish:
vers
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Dutch:
couplet
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Finnish:
säkeistö
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
French:
couplet
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Georgian:
სტროფი
(sṭropi)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Georgian:
კუპლეტი
(ḳuṗleṭi)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
German:
Strophe
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
German:
Vers
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Greek:
στροφή
(strofí)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Hebrew:
בַּיִת
(báyit)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Hindi:
छंद
(chand)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Hindi:
गाथा
(gāthā)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Hungarian:
verze
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Hungarian:
versszak
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Irish:
véarsa
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Italian:
strofa
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Japanese:
バース
(bāsu)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Kyrgyz:
сап
(sap)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Norwegian Bokmål:
strofe
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Norwegian Bokmål:
vers
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Norwegian Nynorsk:
strofe
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Norwegian Nynorsk:
vers
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Persian:
بند
(band)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Portuguese:
verso
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Romanian:
strofă
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Russian:
купле́т
(kuplét)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Russian:
строфа́
(strofá)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Sanskrit:
गाथा
(gāthā)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Scottish Gaelic:
earrann
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Serbo-Croatian:
стих
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Serbo-Croatian:
stih
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Slovak:
strofa
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Slovene:
kitica
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Spanish:
estrofa
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Spanish:
verso
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Swedish:
strof
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Swedish:
vers
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Tamil:
பா
(pā)
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Welsh:
pennill
— one of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed
Arabic:
آيَة
(ʔāya)
— a small section of the Bible
Arabic:
عَدَد
(ʕadad)
— a small section of the Bible
Belarusian:
верш
(vjerš)
— a small section of the Bible
Bulgarian:
стих
(stih)
— a small section of the Bible
Catalan:
verset
— a small section of the Bible
Chuukese:
wokisin
— a small section of the Bible
Czech:
verš
— a small section of the Bible
Dutch:
vers
— a small section of the Bible
Esperanto:
versiklo
— a small section of the Bible
Finnish:
jae
— a small section of the Bible
French:
verset
— a small section of the Bible
Galician:
versículo
— a small section of the Bible
German:
Vers
— a small section of the Bible
Greek:
εδάφιο
(edáfio)
— a small section of the Bible
Ancient Greek:
ἐδάφιον
(edáphion)
— a small section of the Bible
Gujarati:
કલમ
(kalam)
— a small section of the Bible
Hebrew:
פָּסוּק
(pasúk)
— a small section of the Bible
Hungarian:
vers
— a small section of the Bible
Irish:
véarsa
— a small section of the Bible
Italian:
versetto
— a small section of the Bible
Japanese:
節
(setsu)
— a small section of the Bible
Middle English:
vers
— a small section of the Bible
Persian:
آیه
(âye)
— a small section of the Bible
Polish:
werset
— a small section of the Bible
Portuguese:
versículo
— a small section of the Bible
Romanian:
verset
— a small section of the Bible
Russian:
стих
(stix)
— a small section of the Bible
Spanish:
versículo
— a small section of the Bible
Spanish:
verso
— a small section of the Bible
Tajik:
оя
(oya)
— a small section of the Bible
Tajik:
оят
(oyat)
— a small section of the Bible
Turkish:
ayet
— a small section of the Bible
Ukrainian:
вірш
(virš)
— a small section of the Bible
Welsh:
adnod
— a small section of the Bible
Yiddish:
פּסוק
(posek)
— a small section of the Bible
