R. S. Anson
Did you know?
If parse brings up memories of learning the parts of speech in school, you've done your homework regarding this word. Parsing sentences, after all, is part and parcel of learning to read and write. Parse comes from the first element of the Latin term for "part of speech," pars orationis. It's an old word that has been used since at least the mid 1500s, but it was not until the late 1700s that parse graduated to its extended, non-grammar-related sense of "to examine in a minute way" or "to analyze critically." Remember this extended sense, and you'll really be at the head of the class.
Examples of parse in a Sentence
Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 15 May 2025
McQuarrie is so good at parsing out action sequences, dramatic scenes and character moments, and one key scene – where Ethan is quietly investigating a wrecked sub and being tossed and turned like a washing machine – is even oddly calming.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 15 May 2025
This will change across Google's apps to help users parse information faster.
—ArsTechnica, 13 May 2025
Overnight commentators, working from scant information, have parsed the nature of the new Pope’s Americanness.
—Paul Elie, New Yorker, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for parse
Cite this Entry
“Parse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parse. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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