parse
Americanverb (used with object)
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parses,
present (3rd person singular)
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parsed,
past participle, past
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parsing
present participle
-
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)
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parses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
parsed,
past participle, past
-
parsing
present participle
verb
-
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
-
has been parsingperfect progressive
Past
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parsedsimple
-
had parsedperfect
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was parsingprogressive
-
were parsingprogressive
-
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:
Investors will also be looking forward to Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s keynote address from the Jackson Hole, Wyo., economic-policy symposium on Friday, hoping to parse indications of the Fed’s strategy on interest rates.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 23, 2026
Unsettling to many, beloved by more, he refused to explain his work, allowing and challenging his audience to parse through it and imbue their own meanings and discoveries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
In the coming week, investors will hear from companies including Cisco and Applied Materials, and parse the latest reading of the consumer-price index.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Thursday brings the June jobs report, which investors will parse closely for clues about the Fed’s next move on rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
We easily parse complex distinctions in facial expression.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
And that’s a common scenario for AT&T as it parses through all the options out there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
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
Even as the Fed parses the progress it has made on inflation, she said it would "stay the course."
From Reuters ● Jan. 19, 2023
Ever attuned to inversion and instability, Nelson nimbly parses the “knot of freedom and unfreedom” without reflexively championing the former or condemning the latter.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 8, 2021
"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
The LAPD’s Nike case has been parsed in the online sneakerhead community, with questions raised about how much local dealers knew — or should have known — about the origins of their merchandise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 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
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
—Asian equity markets and oil prices were mixed Tuesday as investors parsed developments in the Middle East.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 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
This is the part I’m having trouble parsing.
From Slate ● Aug. 22, 2026
In the end, Schiller has a go at parsing her own motivations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Another challenge will be parsing jurisdictions and liability for assets that cross international waters or are damaged in combat—such as subsea data cables or energy pipelines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 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
The meaningless flow of words might have left the audience with the sense that it was incapable of parsing the deep complexity of Morgan Stanley’s bond trading business.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
