describe

verb

de·​scribe di-ˈskrīb How to pronounce describe (audio)
described; describing

transitive verb

1
: to represent or give an account of in words
describe a picture
The police asked her to describe the thief.
There were so many things he wanted to describeJames Joyce
2
: to represent by a figure, model, or picture : delineate
described in her paintings what she saw from her window
3
obsolete : distribute
4
: to trace or traverse the outline of
describe a circle
5
archaic : observe, perceive
describable adjective
describer noun

Examples of describe in a Sentence

The witness wasn't able to describe the robber. He described the house in perfect detail. The article describes how the experiment was done. She described watching dolphins play beside the ship. Please describe what happened next. Can you describe the lost dog to me? She used a stick to describe a circle on the ground.
Recent Examples on the Web Barbera has described Craig’s performance as a career-best, and A24 picked the flick up earlier this week, as Anthony D’Alessandro revealed. Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 30 Aug. 2024 Although the film’s plot has yet to be revealed, it’s described as a coming-of-age musical set in the summer of 1977 in Virginia Beach in a neighborhood like the one where Pharrell grew up. Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 29 Aug. 2024 Several papers describe tweaks for improving an image-generating technique known as diffusion modeling; another outlines an approach for speeding up learning in deep neural networks. Will Knight, WIRED, 21 Aug. 2024 Created by Ryan Murphy (Feud, AHS, 9-1-1, Glee, and more), the procedural takes place on a luxury cruise ship, features lots of hot people, and can best be described as Below Deck meets Grey's Anatomy meets The Love Boat. Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 19 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for describe 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'describe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin describere, from de- + scribere to write — more at scribe

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of describe was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near describe

Cite this Entry

“Describe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/describe. Accessed 11 Sep. 2024.

Kids Definition

describe

verb
de·​scribe di-ˈskrīb How to pronounce describe (audio)
described; describing
1
: to represent or give an account of in words
2
: to trace the outline of
describe a circle
describable adjective
describer noun

More from Merriam-Webster on describe

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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