gerund

American  

[jer-uhnd] / ˈdʒɛr ənd /

noun

Grammar.

• gerunds
  plural

1. (in certain languages, as Latin) a form regularly derived from a verb and functioning as a noun, having in Latin all case forms but the nominative, as Latin dicendī genitive, dicendō dative, ablative, etc., “saying.”

2. the English -ing form of a verb when functioning as a noun, as writing in Writing is easy.

3. a form similar to the Latin gerund in meaning or function.

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gerund British  

/ ˈdʒɛrənd, dʒɪˈrʌndɪəl /

noun

1. a noun formed from a verb, denoting an action or state. In English, the gerund, like the present participle, is formed in -ing

   the living is easy

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gerund Cultural  

1. A form of a verb that ends in -ing and operates as a noun in a sentence: “Thinking can be painful.”

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Grammar

See me.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• gerundial
  adjective
• nongerundial
  adjective
• gerundially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• gerunds
  plural

Etymology

Origin of gerund

First recorded in 1505–15; from Late Latin gerundium, Latin gerundum “that which is to be carried on,” equivalent to ger(ere) “to bear, carry on” + -undum, variant of -endum, gerund suffix

Compare meaning

How does gerund compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• gerund vs. participle
• gerund vs. infinitive
• present participle vs. gerund

Explanation

In English grammar, a gerund is a word based on a verb that functions as a noun in the sentence. For example, if you say "Sleeping is my favorite thing to do," "sleeping" is a gerund. Gerund comes from the Latin word gerundus, which means to carry on. In English, gerunds can be the subject of the sentence, the direct object, or the indirect object, and they always end in "ing." They are verbs that are acting as nouns. In the sentence, "You may like writing, but it's clear you don't like grammar," the word "writing" is a gerund.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gerund gerunds

His intentional use of a gerund in the title allows “entertaining” to be read as both doing a thing and being a thing.

From New York Times ● Nov. 2, 2021

It’s also one of the activities Koenig recommends for parents to introduce their kids to “musiking,” her preferred gerund for describing the act of playing with melody, rhythm and movement.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 29, 2021

First off, nice possessive before a gerund, Jordan!

From Golf Digest ● Apr. 6, 2020

Instead, Wilson and Nabokov clashed over a gerund.

From Slate ● Dec. 20, 2016

Another example of the infinitive used as a gerund.

From The New Hudson Shakespeare: Julius Cæsar by Ebenezer Charlton Black

“TiVoing,” meaning to record a show for later viewing, even became one of those generic gerunds, like “Xeroxing” or “Googling.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025

Muir and “WNT’s” reporters frequently eschew verbs, replacing them with gerunds in a kind of headline-style speed talk.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 1, 2015

And English verb forms, like past participles, gerunds and infinitives, can be difficult to master, since Chinese verbs are unchanging.

From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2012

Though in the Texas twang, he drops the g’s from his gerunds.

From Time ● Sep. 8, 2011

In fact, gerunds with unmarked subjects were the historically earlier form, have long been used by the language’s best writers, and are perfectly idiomatic.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker