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

The deflating defeat, narrated by an intermittent cascade of boos, rendered their record the worst in baseball at 7-16 and suddenly a half-game lousier than the idle New York Mets. —Kansas City Star, 8 May 2026

How to watch popular Attenborough documentaries Over his lengthy career, Attenborough has starred in and narrated countless documentaries. —Greta Cross, USA Today, 8 May 2026

Breakfast browse David Attenborough at 100 You’ve heard his voice narrate the wonders of Earth for decades. —Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 8 May 2026

Attenborough, pictured here with an orangutan and her baby at the London Zoo in April 1982, went on to narrate an entire documentary, Secret Lives of Orangutans, about the species for Netflix. —Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 8 May 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