How to use derive in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb

Derive means to obtain or receive (something) from something else. Example: “Reading books is the best way to derive knowledge.”

Examples of derive by meaning

verbTo obtain or receive (something) from something else.

Reading books is the best way to derive knowledge.
Power is derived from a British United Traction Limited "A"-type 150-h.p. six-cylinder horizontal diesel engine; this drives through a fluid flywheel, and thence through a free wheel unit to a four-speed epicyclic gearbox.1958 April, “Diesel Railbus for British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 275
Still others derive their structure from mathematical patterns involving primes.2013 July-August, Sarah Glaz, “Ode to Prime Numbers”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4

verbTo originate or stem (from).

Her excellent organisation skills derive from her time as a secretary in the army.
Britannia's firebox would appear to have derived from those of the Bulleid Pacifics, which it closely resembles.1951 April, Stirling Everard, “A Matter of Pedigree”, in Railway Magazine, number 600, page 273
As in much of biology, the most satisfying truths in ecology derive from manipulative experimentation.2012 January, Robert M. Pringle, “How to Be Manipulative”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 31

More sentences with derive

Only formal proofs, which derive theorems logically from their given axioms, are considered satisfactory in modern mathematics.From the entry formal
Spermatoceles are intrascrotal cysts containing sperm that derive from the small tubules of the epididymis.From the entry intrascrotal
Fish move using a flutter of their body to propel themselves through the water. Some also derive propulsion or maneuverability from their fins' flutter.From the entry flutter
The central identity of quantum field theory (according to A. Zee) is an equation which shows how to perturbatively derive a set of Feynman rules from a Lagrangian.From the entry quantum field theory
For many people, their creative output is the meaning they derive in this world.2024 October 4, Betty Coffman, “Q&A: UofL AI safety expert says artificial superintelligence could harm humanity”, in UofL News. From the entry ikigai risk
Chitpavan derives from the Sanskrit ‘chit’ for mind, and ‘pavan’ for purified by fire.2023, Devika Rege, Quarterlife, Dialogue Books (2025), page 61. From the entry Chitpavan
While the latter derive their moral criteria from birth, environmentalists and musealists derive them from choice.2020, Ingo Niermann, “Wet Gods”, in Solution 295-304: Mare Amoris, Sternberg Press, →ISBN, pages 94–95. From the entry musealist
And from that it can derive a lot of energy as a counterenergy, a reflective, dynamic counterenergy.2020, Michelle Henning, Museum Media, page 20. From the entry counterenergy
Thus, deriving the term from Hindustani is not chronologically admissible on present evidence.2018, James Lambert, “Anglo-Indian slang in dictionaries on historical principles”, in World Englishes, volume 37, page 255. From the entry admissible
Moreover, we give some properties of these trigintaduonions and derive relationships between them.2018, Kübra Gül, “On-Fibonacci and-Lucas Trigintaduonions”, in International Journal of Contemporary Mathematical Sciences, volume 13…. From the entry trigintaduonion
Of course, children's authors will also deliberately use morphology to derive anomalous forms.2018, Ralf Thiede, Children's Books, Brain Development, and Language Acquisition, Taylor & Francis. From the entry Amelia Bedelia
The preceding examples show that it is possible to derive applicative constructions from ditransitive bases.2016, Jean Josephine Chavula, Verbal Derivation and Valency in Citumbuka, Utrecht: LOT, →ISBN, page 114. From the entry tritransitive
For macrospins, we derive analytical expression for probability distribution of total EP in the adiabatic limit.2016, Swarnali Bandopadhyay, Debasish Chaudhuri, A. M. Jayannavar, “Rotational diffusion under torque: Microscopic reversibility and…. From the entry macrospins
The formula we derive via superdiagrams generates cumulants for any number of gluons.2016, Sener Ozonder, “Long Range Azimuthal Correlations of Multiple Gluons in Gluon Saturation Limit”, in arXiv. From the entry superdiagrams
Ecosystem services are the benefits that humans derive from the way that natural systems function.2015, Robin Morris Collin, “Human Rights and Waste”, in Robert William Collin, Trash Talk: An Encyclopedia of Garbage and Recycling around…. From the entry pessimize
Our goal here is to derive the optimal static glidepath with respect to this metric.2015, Christopher J. Rook, “Optimal Equity Glidepaths in Retirement”, in arXiv. From the entry glidepath
The partner in this scenario actually derives pleasure from the pain.2015 May 1, Natalie Robinson, Swinging For Couples Vol. 2: The Intermediate Guide To The Swinging Lifestyle - 11 Things You Must Know To…. From the entry painal
In several cases, plural pronouns clearly derive from historical trial and quadral forms.2014, David Christopher Kamholz, Austronesians in Papua: Diversification and Change in South-Halmahera-West New Guinea, page 120. From the entry quadral
As amazing as Samsung is, its international appeal doesn't derive directly from Hallyu.2014, Euny Hong, The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture, page 234. From the entry Hallyu
You can, if you must, create a mock that derives from a concrete class.2013, Jeff Langr, Modern C++ Programming with Test-Driven Development. From the entry mock
Measuring the response time of all sectors of the city derives the fractal response time.2011, City of Houston, HFD Emergency Medical Services. From the entry fractal response time
In most bilaterians, the gut musculature and most vascular muscles derive from the mesoderm.2010, José Xavier-Neto, Marcos Sawada Simoes-Costa, Rodrigo Abe Castro, Hozana Andrade Castillo, Allysson Coelho Sampaio, Ana Paula…. From the entry bilaterian
If ethos and persona derive, in large part, from cultural mores, voice emerges through performance.2010, Lisa Keränen, “Scientists under Scrutiny: The Centrality of Character in Science-Based Controversy”, in Scientific Characters…. From the entry rôleplaying
We then derive the fast Fourier transform for any highly composite number n.2010, Kenneth Lange, Numerical Analysis for Statisticians, 2nd edition, Springer, page 395. From the entry highly composite number
Using this definition, we derive the basic properties of a determinant that are useful in its evaluation.2009, Richard A. Brualdi, Dragoš Cvetkoviċ, A Combinatorial Approach to Matrix Theory and Its Applications, Taylor & Francis (CRC /…. From the entry determinant
Want to know how to derive a nontemplatized class from a class template?2009, Jeff Cogswell, John Paul Mueller, C++ All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies. From the entry nontemplatized
Like karate, for instance, which would appear to derive from the ancient Indian martial art kalarippayattu.2008 May 18, Phoebe Eaton, “Liquid Assets”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 26 Nov 2022. From the entry kalarippayattu
We examine the structure of pseudocodewords in Tanner graphs and derive lower bounds of pseudocodeword weights.2004, IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory, page 67. From the entry pseudocodeword
The word mandir derives from the Sanskrit mandira, meaning a dwelling place.2003 September 30, Jerome Monahan, Places of worship, week 4: a mandir. From the entry mandir
In our time there predominates an analytical, reductive, and deriving look between man and man.2001, Elio Frattaroli, Healing the Soul in the Age of the Brain. From the entry pseudoanalytical
We derive the Mellin transform and its inverse from the complex Fourier transform.1995, Lokenath Debnath, Integral Transforms and Their Applications, CRC Press, page 211. From the entry Mellin transform
From this common source runecasters derive their ability to "read the runes aright" in divinatory work.1989, Edred Thorsson, Runelore: A Handbook of Esoteric Runology, York Beach, Me.: S. Weiser, page 115. From the entry runecaster
The name Montacute derives from the Latin mons acutus, meaning 'steep hill'.1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 287. From the entry Montacute
Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.1975, Monty Python, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. From the entry masses

Meaning of derive

verb To obtain or receive (something) from something else.
verb To deduce (a conclusion) by reasoning.
verb To find the derivation of (a word or phrase).

Full definition of derive

Questions about derive in a sentence

How do you use derive in a sentence?: Derive is used as a verb. For example: “Reading books is the best way to derive knowledge.”
What is a short sentence with derive?: “Reading books is the best way to derive knowledge.”
What does derive mean?: Derive means to obtain or receive (something) from something else.

Adapted from Wiktionary: derive (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use derive in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/derive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.