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

• 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

Frank Quirarte, piloting his new Yamaha WaveRunner, narrated a play-by-play for his Instagram live feed. —Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 13 Sep. 2025

Mosley will narrate the author’s note to the novel, and Michael Boatman will narrate the novel itself. —Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 12 Sep. 2025

About the life and legacy of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Phil Sharp, the doc is narrated by Mark Ruffalo. —Addie Morfoot, Variety, 12 Sep. 2025

The Italian component comes from the text-to-speech voice that narrates the videos. —Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 10 Sep. 2025

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