DictionaryAI

believe

verb
Saybi-LEEV/bɪˈliv/UK/bɪˈliːv/

Formsbelieves, believing, believed

6 meanings of believe

Practice

  1. 1
    supposeverbtransitive
    To think or suppose something to be the case; to hold as one's opinion.

    I believe the train leaves at noon, but check the schedule.

    Economists believe inflation will ease next year.

    UsageShort answers: I believe so, I don't believe so. The negative usually comes first: I don't believe he's here.

    Similarthink, reckon, hold

    Oppositedoubt

    Note

    A softer think, often used to hedge an answer: "Hmm, I believe it's okay." It differs from accepting a claim as true because the speaker offers an opinion of their own rather than taking someone else's on board. It can also take an object and a description with no "to be" between them, as in "some people believe him charismatic." That is the compact form of believe that he is charismatic.

  2. 2
    verbtransitive
    To accept that something is true, or that someone is telling the truth.

    Detectives rarely believe a confession without corroborating evidence.

    She believes the forecast even though storms often defy prediction.

    UsageI believe you trusts what someone says; I believe in you trusts what they can do.

    Similartrust, accept, credit

    Oppositedoubt, disbelieve, distrust, question

  3. 3
    approve ofverbintransitive
    To regard something as right, good, or desirable, and to support it.

    Many parents believe in letting children make their own mistakes.

    He believes in second chances for everyone.

    UsageFollowed by in + a noun or -ing: believe in free speech; I don't believe in lending money.

    Note

    When a practice or principle follows in, the question is no longer existence but approval. Not believing in sex before marriage means thinking it wrong, not doubting that it happens. George Carlin's Brain Droppings (1997) turns it into a confession: "very little in this world that I believe in."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

  4. 4
    religious faithverbintransitive
    To hold religious faith; to accept a greater spiritual truth as real.

    After the retreat, she began to believe more deeply.

    He stopped believing during his college years.

    Note

    The verb with nothing after it: "After that night in the church, I believed." Without an object, the act of faith itself becomes the meaning, and no creed or claim needs naming. Jeremy Corderoy in 1604 sets believing beside acknowledging "all the Articles of the Creed." He also warns that believing does not stand in for living by them.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • The cited passage is attributed to Jeremy Corderoy in a 1604 edition of A Short Dialogue. en.wiktionary.org
    • The passage places believing beside acknowledging and contains the exact words quoted. en.wiktionary.org
    • The passage warns that professed belief does not compensate for ungodly conduct. en.wiktionary.org
  5. 5
    have confidenceverbintransitive
    To have confidence in the ability or power of someone or something.

    You have to believe in yourself before anyone else will.

    Fans believed in their team even after a losing season.

    UsageBelieve in + a person: believe in yourself, believe in the team.

    Similartrust

    Note

    Put a person, team or nation after in and the meaning becomes confidence: "I believe in you, man! You can do it!" Keep it apart from taking someone's word. I believe you trusts what was said; I believe in you trusts what the person can do. In The Godfather (1972), Bonasera's "I believe in America" extends this confidence to a whole country.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

  6. 6
    think it existsverbintransitive
    To accept that something exists; to hold that it is real.

    Plenty of people believe in extraterrestrial life.

    She stopped believing in luck after years of hard work.

    UsageBelieve in ghosts means you think they exist; believe a story means you think it is true.

    Note

    The first of the meanings built on believe in, and the preposition changes the question. It asks whether a thing is real, not whether a statement is true: God, ghosts, the Easter Bunny, reincarnation. One sentence can hold both patterns: "Since I don't believe in reincarnation, I believe that the only way…" The same in later carries approval of a practice and confidence in someone.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • The quoted fragment reproduces the beginning of a Wiktionary example sentence. en.wiktionary.org

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Origin

Old English belīefan ("to believe"), which became Middle English beleven, goes back to Proto-West Germanic *bilaubijan, built from be- and a root meaning to permit or allow. Dutch geloven, German glauben, and Gothic galaubjan are relatives. Its uses with "in" copy the meaning of Latin crēdō in.