Meaning of believe in English

believe

verb [ T ]

/bɪˈliːv/ uk

/bɪˈliːv/

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to think that something is true, correct, or real:

Strangely, no one believed us when we told them we'd been visited by a creature from Mars.

[ + that ] He believes that all children are born with equal intelligence.

She's arriving tomorrow, I believe.

"Is she coming alone?" "We believe not/so (= we think she is not/is)."

[ + obj + to infinitive ] I believe her to be the finest violinist in the world.

[ + obj + adj ] All the crew are missing, believed dead.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to believe someone or something

believeCan we believe a word of what this man says?
acceptMost people accept what the newspapers say.
creditUK It’s hard to credit that she’s 87.
swallowI personally find it hard to swallow the official narrative.
buyWhen it comes to global warming, he doesn't buy it, and is out to discredit the whole theory.

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not believe a word of it

to not believe that something is true:

He told me she was just a friend, but I don't believe a word of it!

believe it or not B1 (also would you believe it?)

said when telling someone about something that is true, although it seems unlikely:

He's upstairs doing his homework, believe it or not.

believe me

said when emphasizing that something is true:

Believe me, I was scared!

if you believe that, you'll believe anything informal

something that you say to emphasize that something is obviously not true:

He said the car in front backed into him, and if you believe that, you'll believe anything!

make believe

to pretend or imagine:

Let's make believe (that) we're pirates.

More examplesFewer examples

He claims to have met the president, but I don't believe him.
I still believe that people are fundamentally good.
I don't believe that story for a moment.
It's hard to believe there's anything wrong with him - he looks so healthy.
I don't believe they should have put him in prison. It isn't right.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Believing

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Idioms

believe something when you see it
not believe your eyes/ears
not believe your luck

Phrasal verbs

believe in something

believe in someone

(Definition of believe from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

believe | Intermediate English

believe

verb [ I/T ]

/bɪˈliv/

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to think that something is true or correct:

[ T ] One juror said he didn’t believe the policeman’s testimony.

[ + (that) clause ] She believed (that) it was wrong to censor the text.

If you believe in something, you feel that it is right:

[ I always + adv/prep ] I believe in giving a person a second chance.

If you believe in someone you have confidence in that person's abilities:

[ I always + adv/prep ] We just need to believe in ourselves.

Idioms

believe it or not
believe me
not believe your eyes

(Definition of believe from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of believe

believe

We believe that countries should empower their people.

From The Atlantic

We believe in employee mobility and will fight for the right to hire great colleagues no matter where they work.

From CNBC

He believes the center's love for the game and desire to get better have him on the right path.

From Philly.com

I believe in this group and all the players we have on this team.

From Los Angeles Times

The website has said it believes the warrant is illegal.

From USA TODAY

Investigators believe at least 32 cases of the explosives are missing.

From CBS News

I believe we will have large bipartisan support on the bill.

From The Hill

That's where we believe that the mistakes are made.

From Baltimore Sun

I believe that's a decent possibility, but it still remains a week-to-week thing.

From Minneapolis Star Tribune

The settlement is believed to be a record for the city.

From USA TODAY

She said she believes the $12,000 could be better spent in classrooms.

From Chicago Daily Herald

No cause of death has been determined in either of the deaths but police do not believe they are suspicious.

From NJ.com

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of believe?

A2,B1