26984 words

describing

4 definitions • 9 examples
1
present participle of
2
to say or write what someone or something is like:

Examples:

Could you describe your attacker?
describe something in detail He described the painting in detail.
describe something to someone Describe to us how you felt when you won.
[ + question word ] Let me describe how it happened.
describe someone/something as something/doing something She described Gary as shy.
She was described as having "fierce blue eyes".
3
If you describe a shape, you draw it or move in a direction that follows the line of it:

Examples:

He used compasses to describe a circle.
4
to recognize a plant or animal as belonging to a particular type, and give it a scientific name:

Examples:

So far, scientists have described 15,482 marine fish species, up from 15,304 a year ago.
The scientific name for mountain laurel is Kalmia latifolia, from Peter Kalm, an 18th-century botanist who first described the species.

Navigation