explain
/ɪkˈspleɪn/ verb A2- To make plain, manifest, or intelligible; to clear of obscurity; to illustrate the meaning of. · The issue was explained to the governor in detail.
- To give the reason for, justification for, or cause of.
- To make something plain or intelligible. · She tried to explain but he wouldn’t listen.
He/she/it explains · Past explained · Past participle explained · -ing form explaining
Verb forms
- Base form
- explain
- He/she/it
- explains
- Past
- explained
- Past participle
- explained
- -ing form
- explaining
Phrasal verbs and expressions
From the library
In a few short sentences he explained to the inspector the facts about the letter and the cipher.
“A man who goes up in a balloon on circus day, so as to draw a crowd of people together and get them to pay to see the circus,” he explained.
“Explain yourself.”
“She could not help it, for she is melted,” explained the Scarecrow.
Other matches
Learn explain in real texts
With a free account, hover any word in the library for its meaning, hear it read aloud, save words for review timed to your memory, and see how much of each book you already know.