examine
Americanverb (used with object)
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examines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
examined,
past participle, past
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examining
present participle
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to inspect or scrutinize carefully.
to examine a prospective purchase.
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to observe, test, or investigate (a person's body or any part of it), especially in order to evaluate general health or determine the cause of illness.
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to inquire into or investigate.
to examine one's motives.
- Synonyms:
- quiz
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to test the knowledge, reactions, or qualifications of (a pupil, candidate, etc.), as by questions or assigning tasks.
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to subject to legal inquisition; put to question in regard to conduct or to knowledge of facts; interrogate.
to examine a witness;
to examine a suspect.
verb
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to look at, inspect, or scrutinize carefully or in detail; investigate
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education to test the knowledge or skill of (a candidate) in (a subject or activity) by written or oral questions or by practical tests
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law to interrogate (a witness or accused person) formally on oath
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med to investigate the state of health of (a patient)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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examinernoun
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preexaminernoun
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subexaminernoun
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superexaminernoun
-
preexamineverb (used with object)
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examinableadjective
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examinatorialadjective
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examiningadjective
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unexaminableadjective
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unexaminedadjective
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unexaminingadjective
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well-examinedadjective
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examininglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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examinesimple
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examinessimple
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have examinedperfect
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has examinedperfect
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am examiningprogressive
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are examiningprogressive
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is examiningprogressive
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have been examiningperfect progressive
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has been examiningperfect progressive
Past
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examinedsimple
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had examinedperfect
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was examiningprogressive
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were examiningprogressive
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had been examiningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of examine
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Middle French examiner, from Latin exāmināre “to weigh, examine, test,” equivalent to exāmin- (stem of exāmen examen ) + -āre, infinitive ending
Explanation
The verb examine means to study something carefully and in great detail. You can examine a book, a painting, a person’s face and so on. Right now, you are examining the meaning of examine. Examine means to look at something very closely and usually with the purpose of making a judgment. If you go to see a doctor, the doctor will examine you to see if you are healthy. Examine can also mean “question.” When the police examine a witness, they are questioning that witness. Along these same lines, examine can also be used to mean “test.” You might examine, or test, your friend’s knowledge of biology by asking him repeated questions about that subject.
Vocabulary lists containing examine
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 5
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck examine the complicated reality of trying to slow down the A.I. frontier.
From Slate ● Sep. 19, 2026
A defence lawyer said a psychologist was due to examine the accused in late October.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
"I think the great significance of these findings, and the tantalizing picture that it promotes, is a great motivation and reason to further examine solid-state nitrogen physics at very low temperatures," Umurhan said.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
The author looks at such characteristics in his individual profiles, but he doesn’t report any studies that examine them across many cases, possibly because they don’t lend themselves to social-scientific measurement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
The Rough Guide series of books and recordings includes some that examine modern folk artists.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
Panorama examines the devastating legacy for three survivors.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
This technique examines the portions of DNA that contain instructions for making proteins, allowing scientists to search across thousands of genes for unusual variants shared by affected individuals.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
His latest book examines leaders in government, business and other fields to determine how the interplay of personal talent and historical circumstance shapes success or failure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Dr. Kiyoko Ishiwata, a veterinarian and surgeon at the Simi Valley Non-Profit Spay and Neuter Clinic, examines a cat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
She sets aside her spade and examines me.
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
A recent Public Policy Institute of California study examined potential causes for the state’s 60% rise in homelessness since 2014.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
The Z bosons examined in the experiment came from the decay of a Higgs boson, the particle discovered at the LHC in 2012.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
Researchers examined where individual plague genomes appeared on the bacterium's evolutionary tree and used that information to refine the likely dates of many samples.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
They first examined systems close to a stable condition.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
My throat had gone dry, but Father chatted cheerfully as he took off the back of Rolf’s watch and examined it.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Authorities are examining loans that insurance companies controlled by Walter made that ultimately helped fund his other business interests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
By examining the fossil under ultraviolet light, researchers uncovered new evidence about its skin, sensory structures, respiratory anatomy, and possible color pattern.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
The inquiry was not tasked with examining Letby's guilt.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Brazil's Supreme Court on Tuesday began examining one of its top justice's ties to a jailed banker, in an unprecedented crisis that has eclipsed the country's presidential election campaign.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Perhaps her presence made the NSA hold back from examining the collection that day.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
