(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
If you ~ something, you give details about it or describe it so that it can be understood.
Not every judge, however, has the ability to ~ the law in simple terms...
Don’t sign anything until your solicitor has ~ed the contract to you...
Professor Griffiths ~ed how the drug appears to work...
‘He and Mrs Stein have a plan,’ she ~ed...
I ~ed that each person has different ideas of what freedom is.
VERB: V n, V n to n, V wh, V with quote, V that, also V, V to n that/wh
2.
If you ~ something that has happened, you give people reasons for it, especially in an attempt to justify it.
‘Let me ~, sir.’—‘Don’t tell me about it. I don’t want to know.’...
Before she ran away, she left a note ~ing her actions...
Hospital discipline was broken. Amy would have to ~ herself...
Explain why you didn’t telephone...
The receptionist apologized for the delay, ~ing that it had been a hectic day.
VERB: V, V n, V pron-refl, V wh, V that, also V n to n, V with quote