present tense
Americannoun
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(in English) the simple present.
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any verb formation or construction used to express an action or state occurring in the present, such as, in English, the present progressive.
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an instance or form of a specific verb expressing an action or state that occurs in the present.
Etymology
Origin of present tense
First recorded in 1400–50
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.
"In this uncertain world where might triumphs over right, war is in the present tense," said Macron.
From BBC • Nov. 27, 2025
The author relates her principal story, of the two sisters, in the present tense, while keeping historical context in the past—an idiosyncratic choice that, fortunately, doesn’t derail the book’s narrative momentum.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
My son stands for — and I speak of him in present tense — everything that’s beautiful about life and the gifts that we all derive from our source.
From Salon • Jul. 27, 2025
They also discuss the strengths and weaknesses of first-person present tense in fiction.
From Slate • Apr. 21, 2024
The second principle is that backshifting is not mandatory, which means that violating the sequence-of-tense rules and keeping the reported content in the present tense is not always an error.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
