# parsing

/ˈpɑɹsɪŋ/ (US) · CEFR C1 · Verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/parsing
Updated: 2026-05-20

## Definition

to break a sentence or a piece of data into its separate parts to understand its meaning. You do this when you read or when a computer processes information.

For teachers: to analyze the grammatical structure of a sentence or the structure of a data string to determine its meaning. In linguistics, it involves identifying the syntactic constituents and their hierarchical relationships.

## Examples

- The computer is parsing the data to find errors.
- When you read a complex sentence, your brain automatically parses it into smaller parts to understand the message.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.