proves

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of prove.

   The new evidence proves that she was nowhere near the scene.

   A good teacher proves her point through example rather than lecture.

   Note

   The everyday present-tense form does two quite different jobs. With an object or a that-clause it means demonstrates: the evidence proves her innocence. Without one it works as a linking verb meaning turns out, followed by an adjective or by to be: the plan proves costly, the rumor proves to be false. The same spelling also names the baker's rising stages, a separate noun.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of prove.

   She compared the results of several proves to find the ideal rising time.

   The recipe calls for two separate proves between mixing and baking.

   Note

   A baker's count: each prove is one resting period in which dough rises. A recipe can call for a first and a second prove, or several proves before baking. The noun names as a stage what proofing names as an activity, and it takes ordinary count-noun grammar: two proves, each prove. Kitchen context keeps it apart from the verb form spelled the same way.

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