0 to make something clear or easy to understand by describing or giving information about it:
If there's anything you don't understand, I'll be happy to explain.
[ + question word ] Our guide explained where the cathedral was.
Please could you explain why you're so late.
[ + that ] She explained that she was going to stay with her sister.
[ + speech ] "Someone must have hit the wrong button," an official explained.
Molly asked the teacher if she could explain herself a little more clearly (= say more clearly what she meant).
No one has been able to explain (= give the reason for) the accident.
He hadn't been home for three days so I asked him to explain himself.
1 to make something clear or easy to understand by describing or giving information about it:
[ I ] If there’s anything you don’t understand, I’ll be happy to explain.
[ + question word ] Bill explained how the program works.
[ + question word ] He couldn’t explain why he did it.
She tried to explain what had happened but he kept interrupting her.
Any decent teacher should be able to explain the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs.
Pay attention to what she's saying because she won't explain it a second time.
She painstakingly explained how the machine worked.
This booklet about the project explains things in an easy, non-technical way.
The age disparity is also explained to some extent by ageing effects, however.
Recall that the non-pronunciation of vocalic positions was explained above by government.
The form cannot be explained on the basis of a constraint on the minimal size of words, like the foot.
