explainverb [ I or T ]
uk/ɪkˈspleɪn/us/ɪkˈspleɪn/A2 to make something clear or easy to understand by describing or giving information about it:
If there's anything you don't understand, I'll be happy to explain.
The teacher explained the rules to the children.
[ + question word ] Our guide explained where the cathedral was.
He explained how the machine worked.
Please could you explain why you're so late.
[ + that ] She explained that she was going to stay with her sister.
[ + speech ] "Someone must have hit the wrong button," an official explained.
Molly asked the teacher if she could explain herself a little more clearly (= say more clearly what she meant).
No one has been able to explain (= give the reason for) the accident.
explain yourself
to give reasons for your behaviour:
He hadn't been home for three days so I asked him to explain himself.
More examples
- She tried to explain what had happened but he kept interrupting her.
- Any decent teacher should be able to explain the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs.
- Pay attention to what she's saying because she won't explain it a second time.
- She painstakingly explained how the machine worked.
- This booklet about the project explains things in an easy, non-technical way.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Defining & explaining
- (do you) see what I mean? idiom
- account (to sb) for sth
- accountable
- cast
- clarify
- convey
- demystify
- descriptive
- every picture tells a story idiom
- evocative
- evoke
- explicable
- explicate
- fill
- get sth across
- mean
- scene
- schematic
- that is to say ... idiom
- unfold
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Phrasal verb(s)
explain sth away