believe */*/*/

UK [bɪˈliːv] / US [bɪˈlɪv] verb
Word forms "believe":
present tense I/you/we/they believe he/she/it believes present participle believing past tense believed past participle believed

1)

a) [transitive] to think that a fact is true

Astronomers knew the Earth was round, but few people believed it.

believe (that):

I don't believe that she's ever been to Hong Kong.

be widely/generally believed (= be believed by a lot of people):

It is widely believed that the virus originally came from monkeys.

find it hard/difficult to believe:

She found it hard to believe that he was a real businessman.

I would never have believed:

I would never have believed such a place existed if I hadn't seen it for myself.

b) to think that what someone has said is true

The police didn't believe her story.

He told me his version of events, but I didn't believe a word of it.

"I did pay the money back!" "OK, OK – I believe you!"

2) [transitive] to have an opinion about what is true or what might happen, although there is no proof

believe (that):

Scientists believe a cure for the disease will be discovered soon.

honestly/truly believe:

I honestly believe he really loved her.

reason to believe:

There is no reason to believe that he is not telling the truth.

lead someone to believe something (= make someone think something):

We were led to believe we could make a large profit.

believe someone (to be) something:

His friends wouldn't believe him to be capable of murder.

3) [intransitive] to have a religious belief

Do you still believe?

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believe (you) me — spoken used for emphasizing that what you are saying is true, especially when you are warning someone about something

All this is going to cause a lot of trouble, believe you me.

can't believe your eyes/ears — informal used for emphasizing that you are extremely surprised or angry about something you have seen or heard

What was he saying? I could hardly believe my ears!

can't/don't believe it — spoken used for emphasizing that you are extremely surprised or shocked; spoken used when something annoys you

"He graduated from Oxford." "I don't believe it!"

I just don't believe it! I left my keys in the car again.

I'll believe it/that when I see it — spoken used for saying that you do not believe that something will happen or that someone will do something

"Dan said he'd help clear up." "I'll believe that when I see it!"

someone/something is believed to be — used for saying that it is the general opinion of most people that something is true although it has not been proved

A third man is missing and is believed to have been taken into police custody.

would you believe it? — spoken used for showing that you think something is surprising or funny

And they want me to sing – would you believe it?

- believe it or not

- can't believe your luck

- I do believe

- if you believe that, you'll believe anything

- you'd better believe it

- you would not believe

Phrasal verbs:

- believe in