parse
Americanverb (used with object)
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to analyze (a sentence) in terms of grammatical constituents, identifying the parts of speech, syntactic relations, etc.
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to describe (a word in a sentence) grammatically, identifying the part of speech, inflectional form, syntactic function, etc.
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to analyze (something, as a speech or behavior) to discover its implications or uncover a deeper meaning.
Political columnists were in their glory, parsing the president's speech on the economy in minute detail.
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Computers. to analyze (a string of characters) in order to associate groups of characters with the syntactic units of the underlying grammar.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to assign constituent structure to (a sentence or the words in a sentence)
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(intr) (of a word or linguistic element) to play a specified role in the structure of a sentence
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computing to analyse the source code of a computer program to make sure that it is structurally correct before it is compiled and turned into machine code
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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parsesimple
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parsessimple
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have parsedperfect
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has parsedperfect
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am parsingprogressive
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are parsingprogressive
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is parsingprogressive
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have been parsingperfect progressive
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has been parsingperfect progressive
Past
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parsedsimple
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had parsedperfect
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was parsingprogressive
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were parsingprogressive
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had been parsingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of parse
First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin pars “part,” as in pars ōrātiōnis “part of speech”
Explanation
When you parse a sentence, you break it into parts and analyze each element carefully. When your sweetheart shouts "You never listen!" it's a bad idea to parse that by replying, "I just heard you, so I must be listening." The ability to successfully parse language is important. A binding legal contract, for example, should be read very carefully so you know exactly what's going on. You can also parse things that are more personal. You might exhaustively parse the comments of the guy you have a desperate crush on for any hint that he shares your passionate feelings. The sad truth of the matter? If you have to parse, he probably doesn't love you. Apply your parsing skills elsewhere!
Vocabulary lists containing parse
Charming as Verb
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Educated
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The Martian
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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:
“Market participants will parse the minutes for validation or contrast with the meeting’s hawkish comments,” the team says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
And it might not be easy to parse out which employees would be best suited for these products.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
If a formal agreement is announced this shortened-trading week, investors will be eager to parse the details–especially around the Strait of Hormuz and how quickly it can be fully reopened to maritime traffic.
From Barron's ● Jun. 14, 2026
I consider them in the light of our 10-foot windows, try to parse them as I stare at another perfect California sunset.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
It took Moody a moment to parse this question.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
This is the little-known but prescient speech that Saladin Ambar expertly parses and intriguingly reinterprets in “Murder on the Mississippi.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2025
A good debate — or one that’s worth its while — illuminates issues, parses differences and sheds light on the persona of its participants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2023
Throughout the album, which arrived in January, Wolf parses the past by mulling how others used to treat her and how she felt about herself.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 8, 2023
Collins added that like others on the committee she will be looking for "clear and convincing signs" inflation is falling as she parses a range of incoming economic data to guide her policy views.
From Reuters ● Sep. 26, 2022
"The rover currently parses the signal into bytes, then identifies the specific sequence the Hab sends. That way, natural radio waves won't throw off the homing. If the bytes aren't right, the rover ignores them."
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
Together, Flynn and Teruko parsed through her life stories to give the show an arc.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
For his part, Thomas writes as though history resides principally in legal texts, 19th-century dictionaries, and carefully parsed debates over sovereignty.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
U.S. stocks ended modestly lower after investors parsed comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh for clues about the path of interest rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Yardeni and his team parsed the official data released monthly by the Treasury Department, and found that foreign investors poured more than $1.4 trillion into U.S. assets during the 12 months through April 2026.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 28, 2026
Suppose a reader has successfully parsed a sentence and now has an understanding of who did what to whom or what is true of what.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
In the end, Schiller has a go at parsing her own motivations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
For investors parsing the regulatory filings, these industry trends supporting the stock carry far more weight than a few automated transactions.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
Eastern Daylight Time, is worth quoting and parsing:
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
He first discovered the site after parsing a thread on Reddit about the best-looking websites.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
And part of your job, aside from parsing abstract intellectual property issues for big corporations, is to help cultivate the next set of young lawyers being courted by the firm.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
