examination

American  

[ig-zam-uh-ney-shuhn] / ɪgˌzæm əˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of examining; inspection; inquiry; investigation.

   Synonyms:

   observation

2. the state of being examined.

3. the act or process of testing pupils, candidates, etc., as by questions.

4. the test itself; the list of questions asked.

5. the answers, statements, etc., made by one examined.

6. Law. formal interrogation.

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examination British  

/ ɪɡˌzæmɪˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of examining or state of being examined

2. education

   1. written exercises, oral questions, or practical tasks, set to test a candidate's knowledge and skill

   2. ( as modifier )

      an examination paper

3. med

   1. physical inspection of a patient or parts of his body, in order to verify health or diagnose disease

   2. laboratory study of secretory or excretory products, tissue samples, etc, esp in order to diagnose disease

4. law the formal interrogation of a person on oath, esp of an accused or a witness

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Related Words

Examination, inspection, scrutiny refer to a looking at something. An examination usually means a careful noting of details: A thorough examination of the plumbing revealed a defective pipe. An inspection is a formal and official examination: an inspection of records, a military inspection. Scrutiny implies a critical and minutely detailed examination: The papers seemed to be in good order, but they would not stand close scrutiny. See also investigation.

Other Word Forms

• examinational adjective
• preexamination noun

Etymology

Origin of examination

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English examinacioun, from Middle French, Old French examinacion, examination, “interrogation,” from Latin exāminātiōn- (stem of exāminātiō ). See examine, -ation

Explanation

The most familiar and unpleasant meaning of examination, known to students around the world, is a test of one's knowledge in a particular area — an exam, in short. The original meaning of examination was considerably more spiritual — a test of one's conscience rather than a test of one's knowledge of algebra or French verbs. Any form of close inspection or analysis is an examination, not just a set of questions on a piece of paper. A doctor will give you an examination of your body if you're sick, and don't, for pity's sake, buy a used car without a careful examination under the hood. Kicking the tires just won't cut it.

Example Sentences

Still, many controllers opt out of what they describe as an onerous examination process that could culminate in losing their careers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

Detailed genetic testing and close examination of physical traits showed otherwise.

From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2026

A post-mortem examination was carried out on 13 April at Basildon Hospital, but pathologists were waiting for toxicology results and a report from Thailand, the inquest heard.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

But if faced with the same tests today, the guardrails and people that held the line would largely be missing, an examination by ProPublica found.

From Salon • Apr. 14, 2026

When we reached St. Michael’s, we underwent a sort of examination.

From "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Frederick Douglass

Related Words

• audit
• checking
• checkup
• cross-examination
• diagnosis
• experiment
• exploration
• inquiry
• inspection
• interrogation
• investigation
• observation
• probe
• questioning
• questionnaire
• raid
• research
• review
• scan
• scrutiny