1 a word formed from a verb (e.g., <em>going</em>, <em>gone</em>, <em>being</em>, <em>been</em> ) and used as an adjective (e.g., <em>working woman</em>, <em>burned toast</em> ) or a noun (e.g., <em>good breeding</em> ). In English, participles are also used to make compound verb forms (e.g., <em>is going</em>, <em>has been</em> ).