described; describing
1
: to represent or give an account of in words
describe a picture
The police asked her to describe the thief.
The article describes how the experiment was done.
There were so many things he wanted to describe …—
James Joyce
James Joyce2
: 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
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
After half an hour of folksy disquisition, Petro finally got around to describing the conversation.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2026
The song describes Ziggy as the confluence of the leper—the great biblical outcast—and the Messiah.
—Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026
Those who know the victim described him as a familiar and well‑liked presence in the neighborhood.
—Anna McAllister, CBS News, 15 Jan. 2026
The report describes a kind of doom loop of AI dependence, where students increasingly off-load their own thinking onto the technology, leading to the kind of cognitive decline or atrophy more commonly associated with aging brains.
—Cory Turner, NPR, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for describe
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Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2026
The song describes Ziggy as the confluence of the leper—the great biblical outcast—and the Messiah.
—Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026
Those who know the victim described him as a familiar and well‑liked presence in the neighborhood.
—Anna McAllister, CBS News, 15 Jan. 2026
The report describes a kind of doom loop of AI dependence, where students increasingly off-load their own thinking onto the technology, leading to the kind of cognitive decline or atrophy more commonly associated with aging brains.
—Cory Turner, NPR, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for describe
Cite this Entry
“Describe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/describe. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
describe
verb
de·scribe
di-ˈskrīb 
described; describing
1
: to represent or give an account of in words
2
: to trace the outline of
describe a circle
describer
noun
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