describe

play

verb de·scribe \ di-ˈskrīb \

Definition of describe

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 describe …
—James 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

play \-ˈskrī-bə-bəl\ adjective

—

describer

noun

See describe defined for English-language learners

See describe defined for kids

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 of describe from the Web

Barksdale asked Givens to describe the conversation his supervisor or supervisors had with Thibodeaux before the supervisors instructed him to submit the warrant application.

— emily lane, NOLA.com, "Cellphone linking suspect to BTY YoungN murder scene had someone else's DNA on it," 19 July 2017
Alessandro Michele's tenure so far at Gucci could best be described in one word: more.

— matt sebra, GQ, "The Gucci Cruise 2018 Menswear Collection Isn’t Bonkers, It’s Just Gucci," 19 July 2017
Griffin is described as a white male, 6 feet tall and 170 pounds, blond hair and blue eyes with several tattoos.

— sheila vilvens, Cincinnati.com, "Clermont County police search for bank robber," 18 July 2017
The suspect is described as a white male who is 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall, in his 50s, wearing black biking shorts and a white and black biking shirt Anyone with information about the man is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 343-COPS.

— kristin rodine, idahostatesman, "Tips are coming in, but Boise police still looking for reported road-rage bicyclist," 18 July 2017
Winners: Mavericks So many of the factors surrounding the Lakers described above apply to the Mavericks too.

— ben golliver, SI.com, "2017 NBA Summer League: Winners And Losers," 17 July 2017
Most describe the creature, called Normie, as looking like the famed Loch Ness monster that allegedly inhabits Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "And They Say Nothing Important Happens on a Friday," 14 July 2017
Such views contrast starkly with practices at many U.S. research institutions, which have been reluctant to publicly describe and defend their animal experiments.

— meredith wadman, Science | AAAS, "To woo public, Europe opens up on animal experiments, but U.S. less transparent," 14 July 2017
Money: The word that keeps coming to mind to describe the meatballs is dry.

— hannah fry, Daily Pilot, "Culinary delicacies delight at Orange County Fair," 14 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'describe.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of describe

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

describe Synonyms

Synonyms

delineate, depict, draw, image, limn, paint, picture, portray, render, set out, sketch

Related Words

characterize, define, label, qualify, represent; demonstrate, illustrate; narrate, recite, recount, rehearse, relate, report, tell; display, exhibit, show; hint, suggest; draft, outline, silhouette, trace, vignette; summarize, sum up, touch off; redescribe, reimage

Near Antonyms

color, distort, falsify, garble, misdescribe, misrepresent, misstate, pervert, twist, warp

DESCRIBE Defined for English Language Learners

describe

play

verb

Definition of describe for English Language Learners

: to tell someone the appearance, sound, smell, events, etc., of (something or someone) : to say what something or someone is like
: to make a motion or draw a line that shows the shape of (something)

DESCRIBE Defined for Kids

describe

play

verb de·scribe \ di-ˈskrīb \

Definition of describe for Students

described; describing

1 :to write or tell about

Describe what you saw.

2 :to draw the outline of

First, describe a circle.

Word Root of describe

The Latin word scribere, meaning “to write,” and its form scriptus give us the roots scrib and script. Words from the Latin scribere have something to do with writing. To scribble is to write quickly or carelessly. To describe is to write or tell about something or someone. A manuscript is a document written by hand. To transcribe is to write down something spoken or copy something written.