adverb

UK: /ˈædvɜː^rb/ US: /ˈædvɝb/ ,(ad′vûrb)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ad•verb /ˈædvɜrb/   n. [countable]

1. Grammar a member of a class of words that modify or describe something about verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or clauses. Adverbs usually express some relation of place (here, there), time (now, then), manner (well, quickly), degree (very, extremely), means, cause, result, etc. In English many adverbs have the ending -ly.Abbr.: adv.

ad•ver•bi•al, adj. See -verb-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ad•verb  (ad′vûrb), n. 

Grammar any member of a class of words that in many languages are distinguished in form, as partly in English by the ending -ly, or by functioning as modifiers of verbs or clauses, and in some languages, as Latin and English, also as modifiers of adjectives or other adverbs or adverbial phrases, as very, well, quickly. Adverbs typically express some relation of place, time, manner, attendant circumstance, degree, cause, inference, result, condition, exception, concession, purpose, or means.

• Latin adverbium, equivalent. to ad- ad- + verb(um) word, verb + -ium -ium; calque of Greek epírrhēma
• 1520–30

ad′verb•less, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

adverb / ˈædˌvɜːb/ noun

1. a word or group of words that serves to modify a whole sentence, a verb, another adverb, or an adjective; for example, probably, easily, very, and happily respectively in the sentence They could probably easily envy the very happily married couple
2. (as modifier): an adverb marker

Abbreviation: adv

Etymology: 15th Century–C16: from Latin adverbium adverb, literally: added word, a translation of Greek epirrhēma a word spoken afterwards