believe
To think that something is true.
To accept or be convinced that something is true or real.
To trust someone or something.
To have trust or confidence in the abilities, character, or truthfulness of someone or something.
To think something is real, even without proof.
To think that someone or something exists, especially without proof.
To think what someone says is true.
To accept what someone says as true without requiring proof.
- Base: believe
- 3rd Person Singular: believes
- Present Participle: believing
- Past: believed
believe it or not
1Surprising but true statement
Used to say that what follows is surprising but true.
- Believe it or not, he has never used a smartphone.
- Believe it or not, she ran the marathon without training.
believe you me
1Emphasize truth of statement
Used to tell someone that what you are saying is really true.
- Believe you me, this job is harder than it looks.
- Believe you me, you don't want to miss this opportunity.
can't believe one's eyes/ears
1Extremely surprised by sight or sound
To be very surprised by what you see or hear.
- I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the price of the car.
- She couldn't believe her ears when they told her the news.
make believe
1Pretend for fun
To pretend something is real as part of a game or story.
- The children were making believe they were pirates.
- Let's make believe we're astronauts exploring space.