verse

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noun

ˈvərs 

plural verses

1

: a line of metrical writing

a fourteen-syllable verse

2

a(1)

: speech or writing distinguished from ordinary language by its distinctive patterning of sounds and especially by its rhythm : metrical language

characters who speak only in verse

(2)

: poetry sense 2

b

: poem

c

: a body of metrical writing (as of a period or country)

The cinquain in older French verse was any kind of five-line stanza.

—John Hollander

3

a

: stanza sense 1

b

: a part of a song that typically occurs in a series, precedes the chorus, and follows any introduction

Sing the first and last verses only.

4

: one of the short divisions into which a chapter of scripture (such as the Bible, Torah, or Quran) is traditionally divided

verse

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verb (1)

versed; versing

intransitive verb

: to make verse : versify

transitive verb

1

: to tell or celebrate in verse

2

: to turn into verse

verse

3 of 3

verb (2)

versed; versing

transitive verb

informal

: to compete against or oppose (a person or team)

Ant-Man is versing two evil-doers in his upcoming movie.

—Andrew Habashy

Synonyms of verse

Noun

• poem
• song

Verb (1)

• tell
• inform
• brief
• advise

Examples of verse in a Sentence

Noun

The epic tale was written in verse.

The second verse is sung the same way as the first.

Verb (1)

while in prison, he versed himself in the rights of the incarcerated

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

What about having to write a verse of a rap, learn choreography, dance in heels, and design their outfit? —Brian Moylan, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2025

Both artists’ verses are rich, and teeming with introspection. —Hanif Abdurraqib, New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2025

According to the Associated Press, the singer spent decades working on the songs, verse by verse, and started recording them at his home studio in Austin around the time Marie was born. —Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 16 Dec. 2025

But there’s nothing slack, or lazy, or subjective, or self-indulgent, about the elaborate verse-craft of those bards. —Literary Hub, 12 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English vers, fers, in part borrowed from Anglo-French vers, verse in part going back to Old English fers, both borrowed from Latin versus "furrow, measure of land, row, line, line of writing, line of metrical writing," action noun derived from vertere "to cause to turn, rotate" — more at worth entry 1

Verb (1)

Middle English versen, in part verbal derivative of vers, fers verse entry 1 in part going back to Old English fersian "to versify," verbal derivative of fers verse entry 1

Verb (2)

back-formation from versus, taken as third person singular present of a verb in collocations such as "Chicago versus Detroit"

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Verb (2)

1936, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing verse

• blank verse
• chapter and verse
• free verse
• heroic verse
• nonsense verse
• tumbling verse

Rhymes for verse

• curse
• hearse
• purse
• terse
• vers
• worse
• adverse
• averse
• coerce
• disburse
• disperse
• diverse

Kids Definition

verse

noun

ˈvərs

1

: a line of writing in which words are arranged in a rhythmic pattern

2

: writing in which words are arranged in a rhythmic pattern

3

: stanza

4

: one of the short parts of a chapter of the Bible