irregular verb
noun
plural irregular verbs
grammar
: a verb (such as be, eat, or sing) that does not follow the usual pattern of inflection
The main building block of the phrase is an irregular verb, ''to be,'' that is both the most complicated of all verbs in English and the most common.—Alissa Wilkinson
specifically
: a strong verb (see strong entry 1 sense 16) : a verb that in English forms the past tense by a change in the root vowel and forms the past participle usually by the addition of -en with or without change of the root vowel (such as break, broke, broken; drink, drank, drunk; strive, strove, striven) rather than by regular affixation compare regular verb
Cite this Entry
“Irregular verb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irregular%20verb. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.
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