parse
verb (used with object)
to analyze (a sentence) in terms of grammatical constituents, identifying the parts of speech, syntactic relations, etc.
were parsing
-
past progressiveof parse.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Beyond the cloud of geopolitical turmoil, investors were parsing fresh data that cast further light on inflation’s growing effect on prices.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 22, 2022
“We were parsing it out to make it appropriate, but also being responsive because we were all trying to figure it out at the same time.”
From Washington Post ● Dec. 21, 2021
And lawyers were parsing whether the decision might affect taxes, adoption or environmental regulations on the reservation lands.
From New York Times ● Jul. 9, 2020
For if Diogenes were parsing a political speech in his quest for an honest man, he would strip away all the dependent clauses; the truth is usually found in simple declarative sentences.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ascham informs us that his royal pupil Elizabeth understood Greek better than the canons of Windsor; and, doubtless, while the queen was translating Isocrates, the ladies in waiting were parsing.
From Amenities of Literature Consisting of Sketches and Characters of English Literature by Isaac Disraeli
