Note: In various languages, verbs take different forms (or inflections) to convey different kinds of grammatical information (such as tense, voice, mood, and 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 call, love, break, and 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: calling, loving, breaking, going. (There is also a kind of noun, called a gerund, that is identical in form to the present participle form of a verb.) The past participle usually ends in -ed, but many past participles have irregular endings: called, loved, broken, gone.
The verb's past tense usually has the same -ed form as the past participle. For many verbs, however, the past tense is irregular. An irregular past tense is not always identical to an irregular past participle: called, loved, broke, went.
The two main kinds of verbs, transitive verbs and intransitive verbs, are discussed at the entries for transitive and intransitive.
Examples of verb in a Sentence
Kris Holt, Forbes, 27 Oct. 2024
But also, in Spanish, there’s two verbs for being: permanent and transitory.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2024
Read: The controversial book at the center of Charlie Hebdo’s latest issue
The operative verb is wander.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 24 Oct. 2024
As with Uber gradually becoming a noun, verb and adjective to the masses, the bet is that with time the obscure qualities of crypto will be anything but.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for verb 
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When Body Parts Are Also Verbs
Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes
Dictionary Entries Near verb
Cite this Entry
“Verb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/verb. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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verb
noun
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