transitive verb

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noun Grammar.

a verb accompanied by a direct object and from which a passive can be formed, as deny, rectify, elect.

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QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of transitive verb

First recorded in 1580–90

Words nearby transitive verb

transition probability, transition region, transition team, transition temperature, transitive, transitive verb, transitman, transit number, transitory, transitory action, transit shed

How to use transitive verb in a sentence

Thus hear is a transitive verb, for it affirms something of an object; I hear the bell.
Dissertation on the English Language|Noah Webster, Jr.
The active voice is that form of a transitive verb which makes the subject and the agent the same word.
An English Grammar|W. M. Baskervill and J. W. Sewell
A transitive verb is one which must have an object to complete its meaning, and to receive the action expressed.
An English Grammar|W. M. Baskervill and J. W. Sewell
This word completing a transitive verb is sometimes called a factitive object, or second object, but it is a true complement.
An English Grammar|W. M. Baskervill and J. W. Sewell

The presence of a transitive verb implies also the presence of a noun; which noun is the name of the object affected.
A Handbook of the English Language|Robert Gordon Latham

Cultural definitions for transitive verb

transitive verb

A verb that needs a direct object to complete its meaning. Bring, enjoy, and prefer are transitive verbs. (Compare intransitive verb.)

notes for transitive verb

Some verbs can be transitive in one sentence and intransitive in another: turned is transitive in “Brenda turned the wheel sharply” but intransitive in “Fred turned when I called.”