R. S. Anson
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If parse brings up memories of learning the parts of speech in school, you've done your homework regarding this word. Parsing sentences, after all, is part and parcel of learning to read and write. Parse comes from the first element of the Latin term for "part of speech," pars orationis. It's an old word that has been used since at least the mid 1500s, but it was not until the late 1700s that parse graduated to its extended, non-grammar-related sense of "to examine in a minute way" or "to analyze critically." Remember this extended sense, and you'll really be at the head of the class.
Examples of parse in a Sentence
Reade Pickert, Fortune, 27 Apr. 2024
Federal rules forcing hospitals and insurers to post rates for medical procedures have taken effect, but the data’s so messy that a crop of new startups is rushing in to make a business out of parsing it for whoever is willing to pay.
—Mohana Ravindranath, STAT, 17 Apr. 2024
Archivists also use software that picks up images of text, called optical character recognition, but humans are still better at parsing old documents.
—USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024
This cryptic set of documents, parsed down from a much larger operational plan for nuclear war, provides the commander in chief with nuclear launch options should policy dictate the president needs to act.
—Annie Jacobsen, TIME, 11 Apr. 2024
Visual artists must strike a balance between accuracy and artistry when conveying scientific observations that exist in data that only experts can parse.
—Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2024
But any rebuttal or parsing the facts of the criminal case in Europe would happen months later in court while copies and screenshots of the civil complaint, sometimes including personally identifiable information, was shared on social media.
—Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2024
The complexity of the food system and warfare itself make parsing intent ever harder.
—Zach Helder, Foreign Affairs, 22 Mar. 2024
Image: Anthropic Anthropic claims Claude 3 models can give near-instant results even while parsing dense material like a research paper.
—Emilia David, The Verge, 4 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'parse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near parse
Cite this Entry
“Parse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parse. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
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