verse
verse Lexical Profile
verse Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A group of lines that form a distinct unit in a poem or song, typically contrasting with the chorus.
"Everyone in the audience knew the chorus, though few could remember the words to the second verse."
Writing arranged with a metrical rhythm, typically having a rhyme; poetry in general, as distinguished from prose.
"Much of the ancient epic was composed in metric verse so that bards could memorize it easily."
Each of the short numbered divisions of a chapter in the Bible or other sacred scripture.
"The minister opened the service by reading a well-known verse from the Book of Psalms."
• verb
To instruct, familiarize, or make someone knowledgeable in a particular subject (usually used in the passive as 'versed in').
"Her apprenticeship thoroughly versed her in the complex regulations of international maritime law."
To express in verse or compose poetry.
"The court poet was commissioned to verse the monarch's achievements for the royal banquet."
• Rhymes for verse
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'fers' and Old French 'vers', both derived from Latin 'versus', meaning 'a line, row, or furrow', from the verb 'vertere' ('to turn'), referring to the turning of a plow or the eye at the end of a written line.