prove Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb be shown or be found to be
    turn up; turn out.
    • She proved to be right
    • The medicine turned out to save her life
    • She turned up HIV positive
  2. verb establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment
    shew; demonstrate; show; establish.
    • The experiment demonstrated the instability of the compound
    • The mathematician showed the validity of the conjecture
  3. verb provide evidence for
    show; evidence; testify; bear witness.
    • The blood test showed that he was the father
    • Her behavior testified to her incompetence
  4. verb prove formally; demonstrate by a mathematical, formal proof
  5. verb put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to
    essay; try; examine; try out; test.
    • This approach has been tried with good results
    • Test this recipe
  6. verb increase in volume
    rise.
    • the dough rose slowly in the warm room
  7. verb cause to puff up with a leaven
    raise; leaven.
    • unleavened bread
  8. verb take a trial impression of
  9. verb obtain probate of
    • prove a will

WordNet

Prove transitive verb
Etymology
OE. prover, F. prouver, fr. L. probare to try, approve, prove, fr. probus good, proper. Cf. Probable, Proof, Probe.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Proved ; present participle & verbal noun Proving
Definitions
  1. To try or to ascertain by an experiment, or by a test or standard; to test; as, to prove the strength of gunpowder or of ordnance; to prove the contents of a vessel by a standard measure.
    Thou hast proved mine heart. Ps. xvii. 3.
  2. To evince, establish, or ascertain, as truth, reality, or fact, by argument, testimony, or other evidence.
    They have inferred much from slender premises, and conjectured when they could not prove. J. H. Newman.
  3. To ascertain or establish the genuineness or validity of; to verify; as, to prove a will.
  4. To gain experience of the good or evil of; to know by trial; to experience; to suffer.
    Where she, captived long, great woes did prove. Spenser.
  5. (Arith.) To test, evince, ascertain, or verify, as the correctness of any operation or result; thus, in subtraction, if the difference between two numbers, added to the lesser number, makes a sum equal to the greater, the correctness of the subtraction is proved.
  6. (Printing) To take a trial impression of; to take a proof of; as, to prove a page. Syn. -- To try; verify; justify; confirm; establish; evince; manifest; show; demonstrate.
Prove intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To make trial; to essay.
  2. To be found by experience, trial, or result; to turn out to be; as, a medicine proves salutary; the report proves false. "The case proves mortal." Arbuthnot.
    So life a winter's morn may prove. Keble.
  3. To succeed; to turn out as expected. Obs. "The experiment proved not." Bacon.

Webster 1913