Home / Dictionary / Verse

Verse Very Common

Verse has 8 different meanings across 2 categories:

Noun · Verb

Definitions
Noun
1

literature in metrical form

"The poet spent hours crafting each line to ensure the ancient verse flowed perfectly into a rhythmic chant."

2

a piece of poetry

"The children recited their favorite verse from the school play during the assembly."

3

a line of metrical text

"The poet recited each verse of the epic poem with perfect rhythm and emotion."

4

A poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme.

"The sonnet is a classic verse that follows strict rules of meter and rhyme."

In plain English: A verse is a single line of poetry that often rhymes with other lines to create rhythm and meaning.

"The children memorized their favorite verses from the Bible for Sunday school."

Usage: As a noun, verse refers specifically to poetry written in lines rather than prose paragraphs. As a verb, it means to play or fight an opponent directly within the context of a competitive match.

Verb
1

compose verses or put into verse

"He versified the ancient saga"

2

familiarize through thorough study or experience

"She versed herself in Roman archeology"

3

To compose verses.

"I need to verse the top player in the final round of the tournament."

4

To oppose, to compete against, especially in a video game.

In plain English: To verse means to learn something by heart through repeated practice until you can say it perfectly without looking at notes.

"The poet decided to verse his love story into a ballad for their anniversary gift."

Example Sentences
"The children memorized their favorite verses from the Bible for Sunday school." noun
"The old hymn book is full of beautiful verse from centuries ago." noun
"She wrote a short verse for her birthday card to make it special." noun
"Many students memorized the first verse of their favorite song before the concert." noun
"The poet decided to verse his love story into a ballad for their anniversary gift." verb
Related Terms
poem song poetry part stanza line chorus paragraph lines poet song part section poems poetic songs poem part bible poem line rhyming lyrics
Broader Terms (hypernyms)
writing style poem line write familiarize
Narrower Terms (hyponyms)
epos heroic poetry clerihew doggerel limerick iambic Adonic tetrameter pentameter hexameter octameter octosyllable decasyllable metrify spondaize elegize sonnet

Origin

The word "verse" comes to Middle English as a blend of the Old English fers and Old French vers, both derived from Latin. Originally meaning a row or furrow in writing, it evolved through these languages to specifically denote a line in poetry before entering modern usage.

Rhyming Words
rse arse erse orse morse terse barse carse norse torse birse zorse gorse perse corse farse marse worse sarse parse
Compare
Verse vs