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• test
  test

  noun

  the means by which the presence, quality, or genuineness of anything is determined; a means of trial.
• test.
  test.

  abbreviation

  testator.
• Test.
  Test.

  abbreviation

  Testament.

Trivia Time

Test comes from a Latin word referring to what?

Test Your Knowledge

test

¹ American  

[test] / tɛst /

noun

1. the means by which the presence, quality, or genuineness of anything is determined; a means of trial.

   Synonyms:

   assay, proof

2. the trial of the quality of something.

   to put to the test.

3. a particular process or method for trying or assessing.

4. a set of questions, problems, or the like, used as a means of evaluating the abilities, aptitudes, skills, or performance of an individual or group; examination.

5. Psychology. a set of standardized questions, problems, or tasks designed to elicit responses for use in measuring the traits, capacities, or achievements of an individual.

6. Chemistry.

   1. the process of identifying or detecting the presence of a constituent of a substance, or of determining the nature of a substance, commonly by the addition of a reagent.

   2. the reagent used.

   3. an indication or evidence of the presence of a constituent, or of the nature of a substance, obtained by such means.

7. an oath or other confirmation of one's loyalty, religious beliefs, etc.

8. British. a cupel for refining or assaying metals.

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verb (used with object)

• tests,
  present (3rd person singular)
• tested,
  past participle,  past
• testing
  present participle

1. to subject to a test of any kind; try.

   Synonyms:

   examine, prove, assay

2. Chemistry. to subject to a chemical test.

3. Metallurgy. to assay or refine in a cupel.

verb (used without object)

• tests,
  present (3rd person singular)
• tested,
  past participle,  past
• testing
  present participle

1. to undergo a test or trial; try out.

2. to perform on a test.

   People test better in a relaxed environment.

3. to conduct a test.

   to test for diabetes.

test ² American  

[test] / tɛst /

noun

1. Zoology. the hard, protective shell or covering of certain invertebrates, as echinoderms or tunicates.

2. Botany. testa.

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test. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. testator.

2. testimony.

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Test. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Testament.

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test ¹ British  

/ tɛst /

verb

1. to ascertain (the worth, capability, or endurance) of (a person or thing) by subjection to certain examinations; try

2. (often foll by for) to carry out an examination on (a substance, material, or system) by applying some chemical or physical procedure designed to indicate the presence of a substance or the possession of a property

   to test food for arsenic

   to test for magnetization

3. (intr) to achieve a specified result in a test

   a quarter of the patients at the clinic tested positive for the AIDS virus

4. (tr) to put under severe strain

   the long delay tested my patience

5. to make an exploratory or initial approach; sound out

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noun

1. a method, practice, or examination designed to test a person or thing

2. a series of questions or problems designed to test a specific skill or knowledge

   an intelligence test

3. a standard of judgment; criterion

4. 1. a chemical reaction or physical procedure for testing a substance, material, etc

   2. a chemical reagent used in such a procedure

      litmus is a test for acids

   3. the result of the procedure or the evidence gained from it

      the test for alcohol was positive

5. sport See test match

6. archaic a declaration or confirmation of truth, loyalty, etc; oath

7. (modifier) performed as a test

   test drive

   test flight

test ² British  

/ tɛst /

noun

1. the hard or tough outer covering of certain invertebrates and tunicates

2. a variant of testa

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test Idioms  

1. see acid test; put to the test.

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Usage

What is a basic definition of test? A test is a series of questions or problems that is used to determine a person’s ability or understanding of something. More generally, test refers to a trial, experiment, or examination that is designed to determine the qualities or characteristics of someone or something. As a verb, test means to assess someone’s knowledge or abilities, to put someone or something through a trial, or to try something out. The word test has several other senses as a noun and a verb. A test is a collection of questions, tasks, or problems that are designed to see if a person understands a subject or to measure their ability to do something. Real-life examples: Most schooling involves taking tests in many subjects, such as math and history. Lawyers must do well on a particularly difficult test, known as the bar examination, to be able to practice law. Used in a sentence: I studied all night for my chemistry test. Test can also be used in this context as a verb meaning to administer such a test. Real-life examples: Teachers test their students’ knowledge by giving them quizzes and tests. Used in a sentence: Yes, you will be tested on this. As a noun, test also refers to an experiment or trial that is designed to discover information about something. Real-life examples: Scientists and researchers create many tests (often called experiments) to learn new information or to see if a hypothesis is correct. A test of a chemical might involve how it reacts with other chemicals. Companies and businesses use safety tests to see if their products are safe for customers. A pregnancy test analyzes body fluids for hormones to determine whether someone is pregnant. Used in a sentence: The scientists used several different tests to determine how much pollution was in the drinking water. Related to this sense, test can mean to put something through a trial or test or to try it. Real-life examples: People often test products before purchasing them. When buying a car, you can test how it drives by taking it on a test drive. Testing a person often involves making them endure some kind of trial. Used in a sentence: The boss is just testing you because you’re new—he wants to see if you can handle the pressure.

Synonym Usage

See trial.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• testability
  noun
• nontestable
  adjective
• nontesting
  adjective
• self-testing
  adjective
• testable
  adjective
• testing
  adjective
• untestable
  adjective
• untested
  adjective
• well-tested
  adjective
• testingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• testing
  present
• tested
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• test
  simple
• tests
  simple
• have tested
  perfect
• has tested
  perfect
• am testing
  progressive
• are testing
  progressive
• is testing
  progressive
• have been testing
  perfect progressive
• has been testing
  perfect progressive

Past

• tested
  simple
• had tested
  perfect
• was testing
  progressive
• were testing
  progressive
• had been testing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will test
  simple
• will have tested
  perfect
• will be testing
  progressive
• will have been testing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of test¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English: test(e), tast(e) “crucible; cupel,” from Old French “test, teste,” Latin testū, testum “earthenware pot”; akin to test ²

Origin of test²

First recorded in 1840–45; from Latin testa “tile, shell, covering”; akin to test ¹

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Explanation

If your boss tells you not to test her patience, she means don't push her today, because she might just snap. Surely you're familiar with vocabulary tests? In this case, someone is giving you difficult questions to see how much you know. Test more generally means "trial." If you test a soap on your skin, you use it on one small patch, to see if you'll have an allergic reaction. A drug test looks for the presence of drugs in your system. A difficult time in life is sometimes called "a test," because it's testing your strength to persevere.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

test test. Test. tests tested testing

My fellow Californians, let us begin with an intelligence test.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

To McDonagh’s relief, the little cancer monologue got laughs at a test screening at a mall in Paramus, New Jersey, landing as he’d hoped with the rest of Wild Horse Nine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

Including the end of last season, Kevin O'Connell's team are on an 11-game win streak, but they face a test at divisional rivals Detroit next week.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

A test on a suspected case, in Rivers State, in the Niger Delta, came back negative, Idris told reporters.

From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026

Michael Faraday, one of history’s most influential scientists due to his work on electromagnetism, designed this device to test the spirit phenomenon of “table-tipping.”

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

"This is the test. This is what comes with that job, and now he has to decide how to handle it," said David Wessel, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026

"We felt that airflow increase on the 4850 Level during that test. That's what made the correlation and triggered everything," Connot said.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026

“We always want to innovate and test. That’s something that was exciting to us to think about bringing our audience new content in different places.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2026

"This is a litmus test. A barometer of feeling nationally and locally."

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

“It was a field test. The military project wasn’t just about programming people so they could camouflage themselves. It was also about making people who were genetically predisposed to be cool under pressure.”

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

"We've got loads of time, there's about 12 weeks until the first Test. We'll see how the next little bit pans out."

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2025

“It’s really good for a young guy to put in a performance that wins England a Test. He was pretty emotional at the end. It’s a pretty cool day for him.”

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2024

“Brisbane is something we can look at. We came back and we won the Test. If we can replicate that, all of us will be really happy,” added Da Silva.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2024

Baum, meanwhile, insists that England must now press their advantage home and win the fifth Test. "2-2 would be a hollow outcome," he says.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 29, 2010

With the dress one may perhaps compare the apparel of the gods Marduk and Adad, for which see A. Jeremias, Das Alte Test. im Lichte des Alten Orients, 2nd ed., figs.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 6 "English Language" to "Epsom Salts" by Various

After being told her blood tests were normal and being diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder, a later test showed her ferritin was 12 micrograms per litre.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

It said it tests its water twice a year for Legionnaires', and has planted 2,000 trees.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026

In previous tests, OpenAI was reportedly warned that agents might slip their safeguards and attack an unintended target while seeking creative solutions to the challenge.

From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2026

Drone tests showed the connection with Starshield, a military-grade Starlink service, was stable at speeds of over 400 kilometers an hour, Defense Minister Evgeniy Khmara told reporters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

They agreed to the Limited Test Ban Treaty, the first nuclear arms control agreement, banning nuclear tests everywhere but underground.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Concerns have however persisted after the two passengers tested positive after passing through Uganda's Entebbe airport on the same day.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

The team then tested how well the system performed when several qubits were active together.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026

Grade-school questions come from OpenAI’s GSM8K data set, and the AI responses from a version of GPT-3 tested in a 2021 OpenAI study.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

Their mothers had tested positive for the virus.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

Left to their next task, Danny could feel the day’s adventure had worn him out and tested his strength.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Ben Glickman and Oyin Adedoyin examine the escalating friction between premium card issuers and the points fanatics testing their limits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

Holmes was convicted of defrauding investors in her medical testing company Theranos after touting lofty promises she couldn't deliver.

From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026

Professor Ali Pate said there was no evidence so far that the Kenyan patient had travelled to Nigeria, but that further testing was under way.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

Researchers must also establish whether antibody testing provides meaningful benefits beyond existing genetic information, clinical assessments, and other blood-based measurements.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

That fall he went back to the hospital for a week or two of follow-up testing.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

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Related Words

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