describe
Americanverb (used with object)
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to tell or depict in written or spoken words; give an account of.
He described the accident very carefully.
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to pronounce, as by a designating term, phrase, or the like; label.
There are few people who may be described as geniuses.
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to indicate; be a sign of; denote.
Conceit, in many cases, describes a state of serious emotional insecurity.
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to represent or delineate by a picture or figure.
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Geometry. to draw or trace the outline of.
to describe an arc.
verb
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to give an account or representation of in words
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to pronounce or label
he has been described as a genius
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to draw a line or figure, such as a circle
Synonym Usage
Describe, narrate agree in the idea of giving an account of something. To describe is to convey in words the appearance, nature, attributes, etc., of something. The word often implies vividness of personal observation: to describe a scene, an event. To narrate is to recount the occurrence of something, usually by giving the details of an event or events in the order of their happening. Narrate thus applies only to that which happens over time: to narrate an incident.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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describabilitynoun
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describernoun
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undescribablenessnoun
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overdescribeverb (used with object)
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predescribeverb (used with object)
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redescribeverb (used with object)
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describableadjective
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nondescribableadjective
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self-describedadjective
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undescribableadjective
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undescribedadjective
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well-describedadjective
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describablyadverb
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undescribablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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describesimple
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describessimple
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have describedperfect
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has describedperfect
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am describingprogressive
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are describingprogressive
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is describingprogressive
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have been describingperfect progressive
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has been describingperfect progressive
Past
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describedsimple
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had describedperfect
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was describingprogressive
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were describingprogressive
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had been describingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of describe
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English describen, from Latin dēscrībere, equivalent to dē- de- + scrībere “to write”
Explanation
To describe is to report details about something either out loud or in writing. "Since we can't come to Paris with you, please describe it in your letter!" Describe is from the Latin word describere which means "to write down." When you describe something, you're "da" scribe, the person writing things down! Writing teachers love to have students describe, using lots of details using the five senses and figurative language. It doesn't have to be written down, though — you can also describe that gold dress you saw to your friend on the phone. Or you can describe a circle, by sketching it out with a stick in the sand.
Vocabulary lists containing describe
The Language of Standardized Tests, List 1
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PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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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:
In the early 1970s, Stephen Hawking and other researchers discovered surprising connections between the laws of thermodynamics, which describe familiar processes such as heating water on a stove, and the behavior of black holes.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
“I don’t know how to describe it other than it wears at you,” Abernathy, 32, said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
His friends and former clerks describe him as a quiet workaholic who tends to defer to other people in one-on-one conversations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
The term "Blue continent" is used by Pacific Islands to describe a joint home and shared stewardship of the ocean.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
In his quarterly letters he coined a phrase to describe what he thought was happening: “the extension of credit by instrument.”
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Denning describes culture as encompassing values, norms, judgments, history, communities, moods, and even relationships involving power and care.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
Raised by a single mother in Korogocho, one of Nairobi's poorest informal settlements, Marius describes himself as "something like illiterate", and sees few options in a country where 40 percent live below the poverty line.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
But disruption in drug supply chains is usually temporary, in what Dittmar describes as a "constant game of cat and mouse".
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Schultz, who describes himself as financially secure, is helping his daughter financially as she tries to start her own business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
Galileo’s law of fall describes in mathematical terms what happens when bodies fall under ideal conditions; but it does not explain anything.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
He described the Fed’s objective as singular and its success as assured.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Family described him as a kind and humble man who worked hard and never hesitated to help others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Menendez described a recent case where she cared for a college student who had driven two hours to come to her clinic because she could not find a closer option.
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026
The students described it as being "brilliant" and "awesome", as they left the screening, which featured an opening video message from Johnson.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
One worker later described taking off his wedding ring before his shift because he feared it would be contaminated with radiation and have to be left behind.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
This framework has long been considered essential for describing many quantum processes.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
"You have to pay a small fee to see a doctor, but then you see one quickly," Angie says, describing her experience in Bulgaria.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
“Like a sour milk base or something, mixed with porta potty with a little chemical on top of it,” she said, describing the aroma.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
No cause of death was immediately released beyond describing it as a “brief and sudden illness.”
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
Osiander, in his anonymous introduction to Copernicus’s On the Revolutions, insisted that Copernicus should only be read as presenting an hypothesis, not as describing how the world really is.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
