Definition & Meaning of "verb"

What is a "verb"?

A verb is a word that describes an action, occurrence, or state of being. Verbs are essential parts of sentences because they express what the subject does or experiences. For example, in the sentence "She runs," "runs" is the verb that shows the action of running. Verbs can take different forms to indicate tense, such as "run" for present tense and "ran" for past tense. They can also show different aspects, like whether an action is ongoing or completed. Additionally, in English, verbs can change to reflect number, meaning they can indicate whether the subject is singular or plural, as seen in "he runs" for singular and "they run" for plural. In other languages, verbs may change in form to represent different features, such as gender or mood, which can vary widely across languages.