narrate

verb

nar·​rate ˈner-ˌāt 

ˈna-ˌrat, 

na-ˈrāt 

narrated; narrating

transitive verb

: to tell (a story) in detail

The children enjoyed the lively manner with which she narrated her life's story.

also : to provide spoken commentary for (something, such as a movie or television show)

The documentary is narrated by a famous actor.

narrator

ˈner-ˌā-tər 

ˈna-ˌrā-, 

na-ˈrā-, 

nə-;

ˈner-ə-, 

ˈna-rə-

noun

Synonyms of narrate

• describe
• tell
• recount
• chronicle
• relate

Examples of narrate in a Sentence

The author narrates her story in great detail.

a documentary narrated by a famous actor

Recent Examples on the Web

Game of Thrones alum Michiel Huisman and Angel actress Alexa Davalos narrate the audiobook version. —Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026

And the actor who narrates the opening scene, describing an essay Nora wrote as a child that anthropomorphized the family home, is Bente Børsum. —Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 5 Jan. 2026

The kind that makes movies with Steven Spielberg and Kevin Costner, and gets Bryan Cranston to narrate her audiobooks. —Greg Carannante, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026

In this unique narrative experiment, Rosenkrantz asks Hujar to narrate the events of the previous day in minute, exhaustive detail, resulting in a film that illustrates the life of the creative mind through both the quotidian and the imaginative. —Robert Lang, Deadline, 2 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin narratus, past participle of narrare, from Latin gnarus knowing; akin to Latin gnoscere, noscere to know — more at know

First Known Use

1656, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for narrate

• abate
• airfreight
• await
• baseplate
• berate
• birthdate
• birthrate
• bookplate
• borate
• breastplate
• bromate
• casemate

Kids Definition

narrate

verb

nar·​rate ˈna(ə)r-ˌāt  na-ˈrāt 

narrated; narrating

: relate sense 1, tell

narrate a story

narrator

ˈna(ə)r-ˌāt-ər 

na-ˈrāt-, 

nə-;

ˈnar-ət-

noun