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Definition of "describe" []

  • To give an account of in speech or writing. (verb-transitive)
  • To convey an idea or impression of; characterize: She described her childhood as a time of wonder and discovery. (verb-transitive)
  • To represent pictorially; depict: Goya's etchings describe the horrors of war in grotesque detail. (verb-transitive)
  • To trace the form or outline of: describe a circle with a compass. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "describe" in a sentence
  • "Does the title describe families who compete, or families who watch?"
  • "Sorry DNC, That bizarre behavior you describe is actually integrity."
  • "Ted, I used to be a civvy turnkey in a VERY busy police office in Glasgow, and the scenario you describe is how it worked there with the arresting officers each taking hold of one arm of the prisoner while I was searching him."