prove
to establish the truth or genuineness of, as by evidence or argument: to prove one's claim.
Law. to establish the authenticity or validity of (a will); probate.
to give demonstration of by action.
to subject to a test, experiment, comparison, analysis, or the like, to determine quality, amount, acceptability, characteristics, etc.: to prove ore.
to show (oneself) to have the character or ability expected of one, especially through one's actions.
Mathematics. to verify the correctness or validity of by mathematical demonstration or arithmetical proof.
Also proof. Printing. to take a trial impression of (type, a cut, etc.).
to cause (dough) to rise to the necessary lightness.
Archaic. to experience.
to turn out: The experiment proved to be successful.
to be found by trial or experience to be: His story proved false.
(of dough) to rise to a specified lightness: Leave covered until it has proved.
Origin of prove
1usage note For prove
word story For prove
Other words for prove
Opposites for prove
Other words from prove
- prov·a·ble, adjective
- prov·a·bil·i·ty, prov·a·ble·ness, noun
- prov·a·bly, adverb
- prov·en·ly, adverb
- prover, noun
- half-proved, adjective
- half-proven, adjective
- non·prov·a·ble, adjective
- o·ver·prove, verb (used with object), o·ver·proved, o·ver·proved or o·ver·prov·en, o·ver·prov·ing.
- pre·prove, verb (used with object), pre·proved, pre·proved or pre·prov·en, pre·prov·ing.
- self-proving, adjective
- sem·i·prov·en, adjective
- un·prov·a·ble, adjective
- un·proved, adjective
- un·prov·en, adjective
- un·prov·ing, adjective
- well-proved, adjective
- well-proven, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use prove in a sentence
As subscriptions become an increasingly alluring business model, fintechs will be forced to consider whether this proven strategy is worth the risk.
In both of these studies, it’s very difficult to prove that transmission happened in flight.
How risky is air travel in the pandemic? Here’s what the science says. | Brian Resnick | November 12, 2020 | VoxTo which I said, as the wife of an attorney, “You need data to prove that the children aren’t doing as well in that class.”
Please Get Your Noise Out of My Ears (Ep. 439) | Stephen J. Dubner | November 12, 2020 | FreakonomicsCollege football is so often underscored by the chance to argue over scenarios that can’t really be proved one way or the other, and in this one respect, the 2020 season is no exception.
The mystery of Lizbert’s whereabouts and the compelling job you have as a journalist with something to prove aren’t enough.
‘Bugsnax’ is charming and funny, but sapped by vexing gameplay | Harold Goldberg | November 9, 2020 | Washington Post
"You were never more mistaken in your life," replied Peter, with anything but legal guardedness concerning unprovable statements.
The Honorable Peter Stirling and What People Thought of Him | Paul Leicester FordIn a book such as this, mooted questions which involve such multitudinous detail and such unprovable argument cannot be discussed.
Cathedrals and Cloisters of the South of France, Volume 1 | Elise Whitlock RoseA difficult possibility to conceive of individual intelligence and if unprovable against the theory of existence after death.
Percy Bysshe Shelley as a Philosopher and Reformer | Charles SotheranThis answer, too, seems to entail an unprovable assumption which should not be made without explicit evidence.
The Ancestry of Modern Amphibia: A Review of the Evidence | Theodore H. EatonGodliness in men is latent, invisible, unprovable as to the sincerity of it, and obscure as to the exercise.
A Christian Directory (Volume 1 of 4) | Richard Baxter
British Dictionary definitions for prove
/ (pruːv) /
(may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to establish or demonstrate the truth or validity of; verify, esp by using an established sequence of procedures or statements
to establish the quality of, esp by experiment or scientific analysis
law to establish the validity and genuineness of (a will)
to show (oneself) able or courageous
(copula) to be found or shown (to be): this has proved useless; he proved to be invaluable
printing to take a trial impression of (type, etc)
(intr) (of dough) to rise in a warm place before baking
archaic to undergo
Origin of prove
1Derived forms of prove
- provable, adjective
- provability, noun
- provably, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with prove
In addition to the idiom beginning with prove
- prove out
also see:
- exception proves the rule
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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