verb
describe
dih-SKRYB
verb
1
To put something into words, giving an account of what it is like.
"Can you describe the man you saw at the door?"
"She struggled to describe how the medicine made her feel."
2
To trace or form a particular shape, especially in geometry.
"The comet's orbit describes a long, narrow ellipse."
How to Use Describe
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo explain what something is or looks like using words.
Common pairings
describe in detail
hard to describe
describe someone as
Word Forms
described past tense, describes singular
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Can you _____ the man you saw at the door?
Etymology
From Latin describere, "to copy down or sketch out" — from de- ("down, off") + scribere ("to write"), the same root that gives us "scribe."