parse

1 of 2

verb

ˈpärs How to pronounce parse (audio)
 chiefly British  ˈpärz
parsed; parsing

transitive verb

1
a
: to divide (a sentence) into grammatical parts and identify the parts and their relations to each other
b
: to describe (a word) grammatically by stating the part of speech and explaining the inflection (see inflection sense 2a) and syntactical relationships
2
: to examine in a minute way : analyze critically
having trouble parsing … explanations for dwindling market sharesR. S. Anson

intransitive verb

1
: to give a grammatical description of a word or a group of words
2
: to admit of being parsed

parse

2 of 2

noun

: a product or an instance of parsing

Did you know?

If parse brings up memories of learning the parts of speech in school, you've done your homework regarding this word. Parsing sentences, after all, is part and parcel of learning to read and write. Parse comes from the first element of the Latin term for "part of speech," pars orationis. It's an old word that has been used since at least the mid 1500s, but it was not until the late 1700s that parse graduated to its extended, non-grammar-related sense of "to examine in a minute way" or "to analyze critically." Remember this extended sense, and you'll really be at the head of the class.

Examples of parse in a Sentence

Verb Students were asked to parse the sentence. Economists parsed the census data.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
If Powell doesn’t provide concrete information on potential rate adjustments to come, the market will still likely parse his words and the Fed statement for clues. Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024 Recurrent neural networks struggled to parse longer chunks of text. Steven Levy, WIRED, 20 Mar. 2024 Wall Street will also parse a slate of fresh data on the housing market next week, including the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, housing starts data from the Census Bureau and the monthly existing home sales report from the National Association of Realtors. Krystal Hur, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024 For decades, journalists, investors, and leaders have parsed the letters for Buffett’s wisdom and insights. Carmine Gallo, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Observers will be parsing how leaders discuss or comment on key issues like China’s position on the self-governing island of Taiwan, its relations with the US and bid to strengthen innovation as Washington bolsters tech export controls. Simone McCarthy, CNN, 3 Mar. 2024 And China watchers will parse the annual defense budget and the possible introduction of a new foreign minister. Ken Moritsugu, Quartz, 3 Mar. 2024 News about the game has mostly involved a giant slew of PvP updates which are fine, but not the most exciting thing to parse. Paul Tassi, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 Both professors say that the isolation of COVID-19 quarantine intensified parasocial behavior in ways that researchers are still parsing. Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 25 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'parse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Latin pars orationis part of speech

First Known Use

Verb

circa 1568, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1963, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of parse was circa 1568

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near parse

Cite this Entry

“Parse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parse. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

parse

verb
ˈpärs,
ˈpärz
parsed; parsing
1
: to analyze a sentence by naming its parts and their relations to each other
2
: to give the part of speech of a word and explain its relation to other words in a sentence

More from Merriam-Webster on parse

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!