prove

UK/ˈpɹuːv/US/ˈpɹuv/

verbB14 meanings Very common — you will meet it every day · #566 of 15,258leans spoken

Other forms: proved, proving, proves

To prove something is to show with evidence that it is true, so that nobody can argue back. A receipt proves you paid. A fingerprint proves whose hand held the glass.

The second meaning has no evidence in it at all: to prove is to turn out to be. The journey proved expensive, the rumour proved false, the old coat proved warmer than the new one. To prove yourself is to show what you can do when people are doubting you. In baking, dough proves — it sits somewhere warm and rises before it goes near the oven. The noun is proof, and both proved and proven work as the past participle: it has been proved, a proven method.

Definitions of prove

1verbproveTo show by evidence or argument that something is true.B1~53%
“The letters prove he was in the country that week.”
- Said"You can't prove I ate the last biscuit. There were no witnesses."
- WrittenThe receipt proved she had been at the restaurant that night, and the story fell apart.
- UsedProve your claim with paperwork before asking for a refund.
- ContrastProve, not say. Anyone can say it; to prove it you must produce the evidence. say →
- Not thisLeaving dough to rise is proving in another sense. Here, proving is about facts and proof.
- Exchange"Can you prove that?""I've got the photo. Look."
- SimplyShow me the letter. Prove it.
Patternprove sth · prove that + clause · prove sb wrong / right · proof · proven
synonyms: demonstrate, establish, show
2verbturnTo turn out to be; used as a linking verb before an adjective or noun.B2~43%
“The shortcut proved slower than the main road.”
synonyms: turn out, become
3verbabilityTo show that you have the ability or courage people doubted.B2~2%
“She spent a year proving herself on the night shift.”
4verbriseOf bread dough, to be left in a warm place so the yeast makes it rise before baking.C1~2%
“Leave the dough to prove for an hour under a damp cloth.”
- Said"Don't touch the dough — it's still proving."
- WrittenThe loaves proved slowly overnight in the cold kitchen and went into the oven at dawn.
- UsedCover the bowl and leave to prove until doubled in size.
- ContrastProve, not rise. Anything with yeast rises; prove is the baker's word for the warm rest that makes it happen. rise →
- Exchange"Is the bread ready to bake?""Not yet. It needs to prove another half hour."
- SimplyKeep it warm and wait. Let it prove.
Patternleave sth to prove · prove for + time · prove until doubled in size
synonyms: rise

Shares are an estimate: a language model read 9 sentences found in the wild and placed 9 of them on a sense — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.

Remember it

The Latin is to test. You prove something by testing it until nobody can doubt it — and bakers still say the dough proves, when the test is whether it has grown.

hooks ontotest

Phrases it lives in

the exception that proves the rule — an odd case that puts a general rule to the test

Also practised as

verbOf bread dough, to be left in a warm place so the yeast makes it rise before baking.

Where it comes from

Prove has two parents that met: Old English prōfian and Old French prover, both from Latin probō, which meant to test, try and examine as much as to demonstrate. That came from probus, good or worthy, and from a Proto-Indo-European phrase meaning being in front, prominent. The old testing sense is why the exception that proves the rule makes sense — there prove still means put to the test. It is a doublet of probe.

Proto-Indo-European
*bʰuH-
Proto-Indo-European
*pro-bʰuH-s — being in front, prominent
Latin
probō — test, try, examine, approve, show to be good or fit, prove
Old French
prover — to prove
Old English
prōfian — to esteem, regard as, evince, try, prove
Middle English
proven
English, today
prove

Built from

probus · Latin — good, worthy, excellent
*per- · Proto-Indo-European — toward
*bʰuH- · Proto-Indo-European — to be

From Middle English proven, from Old English prōfian (“to esteem, regard as, evince, try, prove”) and Old French prover (“to prove”), both from Latin probō (“test, try, examine, approve, show to be good or fit, prove”), from probus (“good, worthy, excellent”), from Proto-Indo-European pro-bʰuH-s (“being in front, prominent”), from pro-, per- (“toward”) + bʰuH- (“to be”). Displaced native Middle English sothen (“to prove”), from Old English sōþian (“to prove”). a doublet of probe. More at for, be, soothe.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Sharper Verbs

Practise this word

prove in the wild

Equivalently, there will always be statements about natural numbers that are false, but that cannot be proved false within the system.
Gödel's incompleteness theorems
If the claimant fails to discharge the burden of proof to prove their case, the claim will be dismissed.
Burden of proof (law)
However, such objections, when made, can prove critical later in order to preserve appellate issues.
Closing argument
Recovery may take months; about 10% of cases prove to be fatal.
Tetanus
Studies have detected bacterial pathogens in head lice, but detection alone does not prove that head lice can transmit infection to humans.
Head lice infestation

1 / 2

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the probō family

prove approve

prove — used about once every 47 pages · #566 · point at the bar for the others

Definitions of prove

1verbproveTo show by evidence or argument that something is true.B1~53%

“The letters prove he was in the country that week.”

Said"You can't prove I ate the last biscuit. There were no witnesses."
WrittenThe receipt proved she had been at the restaurant that night, and the story fell apart.
UsedProve your claim with paperwork before asking for a refund.
ContrastProve, not say. Anyone can say it; to prove it you must produce the evidence. say →
Not thisLeaving dough to rise is proving in another sense. Here, proving is about facts and proof.
Exchange"Can you prove that?""I've got the photo. Look."
SimplyShow me the letter. Prove it.

Patternprove sth · prove that + clause · prove sb wrong / right · proof · proven

synonyms: demonstrate, establish, show

2verbturnTo turn out to be; used as a linking verb before an adjective or noun.B2~43%

“The shortcut proved slower than the main road.”

synonyms: turn out, become

3verbabilityTo show that you have the ability or courage people doubted.B2~2%

“She spent a year proving herself on the night shift.”

4verbriseOf bread dough, to be left in a warm place so the yeast makes it rise before baking.C1~2%

“Leave the dough to prove for an hour under a damp cloth.”

Said"Don't touch the dough — it's still proving."
WrittenThe loaves proved slowly overnight in the cold kitchen and went into the oven at dawn.
UsedCover the bowl and leave to prove until doubled in size.
ContrastProve, not rise. Anything with yeast rises; prove is the baker's word for the warm rest that makes it happen. rise →
Exchange"Is the bread ready to bake?""Not yet. It needs to prove another half hour."
SimplyKeep it warm and wait. Let it prove.

Patternleave sth to prove · prove for + time · prove until doubled in size

synonyms: rise

Shares are an estimate: a language model read 9 sentences found in the wild and placed 9 of them on a sense — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.