intransitive verb

noun

1. 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

1. 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 .)

Notes

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.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of intransitive verb¹

First recorded in 1605–15

Example Sentences

Missing hyphens or incorrect capitalization, ambiguities about singular and plural nouns or transitive and intransitive verbs — no question is too insignificant.

From Seattle Times

Missing hyphens or incorrect capitalization, ambiguities about singular and plural nouns or transitive and intransitive verbs - no question is too insignificant.

From Washington Times

It says so in the Oxford English Dictionary, the authority on our language, and Merriam-Webster agrees—it’s an intransitive verb, just as it’s used in the examples above.

From Golf Digest

“To bald” may not be a common intransitive verb, but that has not prevented “balding” from entering the language as a participle.

From The New Yorker

So what the critics really meant is that the Times erred in using an intransitive verb.

From Economist