To Parse

1. (linguistics, transitive, intransitive) To resolve (a sentence, etc.) into its elements, pointing out the several parts of speech, and their relation to each other by agreement or government; to analyze and describe grammatically. [from mid 16th c.]Synonym: construe
2. (transitive) To examine closely; to scrutinize.
3. (computing, transitive, intransitive) To split a (file or other input) into pieces of data that can be easily manipulated or stored.
4. (computing, transitive) To resolve (a string of code or text) into its elements to determine if it conforms to a particular grammar.
5. (computing, linguistics, intransitive) Of a string of code or text, sentence, etc.: to conform to rules of grammar, to be syntactically valid.

This sentence doesn't parse.

Usage notesEdit

Generally speaking, parse is an ergative verb, i.e. ambitransitive with the subject of the intransitive form corresponding to the direct object of the transitive form. If a person or program can parse X into Y, then we say that X parses as Y. Note that the last sense is not quite the same as the penultimate; a string only parses if it can be parsed successfully.