inserts

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of insert.

   The nurse inserts the needle slowly to avoid bruising.

   Each time the program runs, it inserts a timestamp into the log file.

   Note

   Because insert is transitive, this form almost always takes an object: the nurse inserts the needle, not simply the nurse inserts. The destination usually follows with into or between, as in inserts a timestamp into the log file or inserts a clause between two others. Without a singular subject and an object, the word is more likely the noun plural.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of insert.

   The advertising inserts added weight to the Sunday paper.

   Runners often replace the foam inserts in their shoes every few months.

   Note

   A regular -s plural that carries every meaning of the noun: leaflets tucked into a newspaper, images set into text, components fitted into machinery, DNA spliced into another molecule, pre-recorded segments within a live broadcast. A modifier usually tells them apart (advertising inserts, foam inserts). The same spelling is also the present-tense verb, so the sentence decides: the inserts fell out is the noun, she inserts the card is the verb.

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