INTRANSITIVE VERB Definition & Meaning

intransitive verb

noun

a verb that indicates a complete action without being accompanied by a direct object, as sit or lie, and, in English, that does not form a passive.

intransitive verb

A verb that does not need a direct object to complete its meaning. Run, sleep, travel, wonder, and die are all intransitive verbs. (Compare transitive verb.)

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Some verbs can be intransitive in one sentence and transitive in another. Boiled is intransitive in “My blood boiled” but transitive in “I boiled some water.”

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of intransitive verb¹

First recorded in 1605–15

intransitive in transitu

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