believe
Americanverb (used without object)
-
believes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
believed,
past participle, past
-
believing
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
believes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
believed,
past participle, past
-
believing
present participle
-
to have confidence or faith in the truth of (a positive assertion, story, etc.); give credence to.
-
to have confidence in the assertions of (a person).
-
to have a conviction that (a person or thing) is, has been, or will be engaged in a given action or involved in a given situation.
The fugitive is believed to be headed for the Mexican border.
-
to suppose or assume; understand (usually followed by a noun clause).
I believe that he has left town.
verb phrase
idioms
verb
-
(tr; may take a clause as object) to accept (a statement, supposition, or opinion) as true
I believe God exists
-
(tr) to accept the statement or opinion of (a person) as true
-
to be convinced of the truth or existence (of)
to believe in fairies
-
(intr) to have religious faith
-
(when tr, takes a clause as object) to think, assume, or suppose
I believe that he has left already
-
(tr; foll by of; used with can, could, would, etc) to think that someone is able to do (a particular action)
I wouldn't have believed it of him
Usage
Spelling tips for believe The word believe is hard to spell for two reasons. First, because it can be hard to remember the order of the i and e. Sometimes people want to spell it beleive, which is incorrect. Second, because it is pronounced [ bih-leev ], which makes you think there may be a second i in the word, as in bilieve. How to spell believe: The easiest way to remember how to spell believe is with the classic mnemonic device: “I before E, except after C." Believ[ing] is an important part of "being alive", which reminds you that the first syllable is be, not bi.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
believabilitynoun
-
believablenessnoun
-
believernoun
-
believingnoun
-
superbelievablenessnoun
-
prebelieveverb
-
believableadjective
-
half-believedadjective
-
half-believingadjective
-
superbelievableadjective
-
well-believedadjective
-
believablyadverb
-
believinglyadverb
-
superbelievablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
believesimple
-
believessimple
-
have believedperfect
-
has believedperfect
-
am believingprogressive
-
are believingprogressive
-
is believingprogressive
-
have been believingperfect progressive
-
has been believingperfect progressive
Past
-
believedsimple
-
had believedperfect
-
was believingprogressive
-
were believingprogressive
-
had been believingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of believe
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English bileven, equivalent to bi- be- + leven, Old English (Anglian) gelēfan (cognate with Dutch gelooven, German glauben, Gothic galaubjan )
Explanation
If you believe something, you think it’s true. If you are easily duped then you might believe your little sister when she says a thief broke into the house and ate all your candy. Believe comes from old German words meaning to have trust. Belief doesn’t require proof, just acceptance. If you’re on a jury and the prosecution and defense present two different versions of what happened, you have to decide which side you believe. To believe can also mean having confidence. If you believe in me, it doesn’t mean that you think I’m real (unless I’m a ghost). It means you think I can do what I set out to do.
Vocabulary lists containing believe
Spelling Practice, Unit 3
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Spelling Practice 1, Unit 4
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Spelling Practice 2, Unit 4
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
What that tells us is that he must believe, or know, that Harris won’t run.
From Slate ● Sep. 19, 2026
He is not selling his stake in the Lakers, his attorney told The Times last month, in part because “we believe they are still undervalued.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
But some in the White House believe her premature return could provoke a confrontation and disrupt the administration’s transition plan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
You’d want to underweight stocks so long as you believe interest rates will continue rising, but overweight them once you think that a rate-cut cycle is about to begin.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
It was during this preinspection lineup one morning that I saw what I had till then refused to believe.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Ritwik Gupta, a computer science and AI professor at the University of Maryland, believes that pacing the frontier is contingent upon on widespread cooperation among labs.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
She believes that for too long, women have been treated like "small men".
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Peter Wittig, a former German ambassador to the U.S., believes such a radical step would be misguided.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Defries believes the apology, and funding, will help.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
However, Puthoff believes he has a way to extract energy from the void.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
One person close to him believed the time Buffett spent at home recuperating gave him an opportunity to contemplate the company’s future and the decision about when to step down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Most of the 72,000 migrants who breached the border from Morocco in July have returned, but it is believed that more than 13,000 remain in the enclave.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Throughout the crisis, Kiritsis made live calls to Fred Heckman, a local AM radio news broadcaster, pleading to listeners for the justice he believed he was due.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
And they believed the Whanki Museum was behind it all.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
There was a myth in our family, firmly believed in by all, that Tante Anna received wages for this work—and indeed every Saturday, Father faithfully paid her one guilder.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Tice laughed at first, Ali recalls the driver saying, apparently believing the man he trusted was joking.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
“They’ve spent 13 years believing That’s the guy that shot me,” he said.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
At least three other men allege she tricked them into believing she was pregnant over the past decade, according to court records.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Just saying and believing something will happen will make it happen, right?
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
"I see nothing," she said, a little angry with me for believing.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
