experiment
[noun ik-sper-uh-muh nt; verb ek-sper-uh-ment]
- a test, trial, or tentative procedure; an act or operation for the purpose of discovering something unknown or of testing a principle, supposition, etc.: a chemical experiment; a teaching experiment; an experiment in living.
- the conducting of such operations; experimentation: a product that is the result of long experiment.
- Obsolete. experience.
- to try or test, especially in order to discover or prove something: to experiment with a new procedure.
Origin of experiment
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com2. research, investigation.
Synonym study
1. See trial.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for experiment
Contemporary Examples
This video, courtesy of BuzzFeed, tries a bit of an experiment to get some answers.
In the fall of 1992, Booker became a vegetarian “as an experiment,” he said, “and I was surprised by how much my body took to it.”
Japanese whisky is not regulated in Japan or in the U.S., so producers have the freedom to experiment with flavors and techniques.
Their experiment is known as the Holometer, located at Fermilab in Illinois.
At the end of our experiment, my friend and I both felt a little more in touch with our world and ourselves.
Historical Examples
Anyone else can demonstrate it who chooses to make the experiment.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
Poor Dirk, you will remember, if he had thought of it, had no comb with which to experiment.
Ester Ried Yet SpeakingIsabella Alden
We regard every child in our school as a subject for experiment.
A Treatise on Parents and ChildrenGeorge Bernard Shaw
He himself said I was the best subject he could find for the experiment.
The Bacillus of BeautyHarriet Stark
When they reached Malakand, the experiment was at once made.
The Story of the Malakand Field ForceSir Winston S. Churchill
experiment
- a test or investigation, esp one planned to provide evidence for or against a hypothesis: a scientific experiment
- the act of conducting such an investigation or test; experimentation; research
- an attempt at something new or different; an effort to be originala poetic experiment
- an obsolete word for experience
- (intr) to make an experiment or experiments
Word Origin
C14: from Latin experīmentum proof, trial, from experīrī to test; see experience
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for experiment
n.
mid-14c., from Old French esperment "practical knowledge, cunning, enchantment; trial, proof, example, lesson," from Latin experimentum "a trial, test, proof, experiment," noun of action from experiri "to test, try" (see experience).
v.
late 15c., from experiment (n.). Related: Experimented; experimenting.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
experiment
(ĭk-spĕr′ə-mənt)
- A test under controlled conditions that is made to demonstrate a known truth, to examine the validity of a hypothesis, or to determine the efficacy of something previously untried.
- The process of conducting such a test; experimentation.
- An innovative act or procedure.
- The result of experimentation.
- To conduct an experiment.
- To try something new, especially in order to gain experience.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
experiment
[ĭk-spĕr′ə-mənt]
- A test or procedure carried out under controlled conditions to determine the validity of a hypothesis or make a discovery. See Note at hypothesis.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.