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Is impact a verb?
You may occasionally run into claims that impact is not a verb, or that it is somehow ill-suited to a role in this part of speech. Not only is that not the case, but the verb form of impact is much older than the noun form. It is possible that the word started attracting more displeasure when it began being widely used in a figurative sense as a transitive verb ("we expect the recession to impact the company"). The word is certainly a verb, although before using it in this manner in writing it is worth considering your audience, and whether members of it are likely to consider this use problematic.
Examples of impact in a Sentence
Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
And after a performance like that, where Tottenham were thoroughly outplayed and outfought, Frank will need to lean on characters capable of making an impact on and off the pitch.
—Elias Burke, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
JSTOR Daily, 24 Oct. 2025
The video comes as Storm Benjamin continues to impact much of Europe.
—Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impact
Cite this Entry
“Impact.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impact. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
impact
1 of 2 verb
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