quiz
Americannoun
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an informal test or examination of a student or class.
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a questioning.
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a practical joke; a hoax.
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Chiefly British. an eccentric, often odd-looking person.
verb (used with object)
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to examine or test (a student or class) informally by questions.
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to question closely.
The police quizzed several suspects.
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Chiefly British. to make fun of; ridicule; mock; chaff.
noun
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an entertainment in which the general or specific knowledge of the players is tested by a series of questions, esp as a radio or television programme
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( as modifier )
a quiz programme
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any set of quick questions designed to test knowledge
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an investigation by close questioning; interrogation
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obsolete a practical joke; hoax
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obsolete a puzzling or eccentric individual
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obsolete a person who habitually looks quizzically at others, esp through a small monocle
verb
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to investigate by close questioning; interrogate
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informal to test or examine the knowledge of (a student or class)
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obsolete (tr) to look quizzically at, esp through a small monocle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have quizzedperfect
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has quizzedperfect 3rd person singular
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is quizzingprogressive 3rd person singular
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quizzessingular 3rd person
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has been quizzingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been quizzingperfect progressive
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am quizzingprogressive 1st person singular
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quizzingparticiple
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are quizzingprogressive
Past
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had quizzedperfect
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were quizzingprogressive plural
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was quizzingprogressive singular
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quizzedparticiple
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quizzedsimple
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had been quizzingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of quiz
1775–85 in sense “odd person”; 1840–50 quiz for def. 1; origin uncertain
Explanation
A quiz is a short series of questions with a quick result. A magazine quiz might tell a reader if "he's into you," or a pop quiz in English class will let your teacher know how far you got (or didn't get) in last night's reading. As a verb, quiz means to ask a series of questions. A teacher might quiz his students on the material covered in lecture the day before. A mother might quiz her son as to his plans for after school. The questioning meaning of the noun and verb came into use in the mid-nineteenth century, possibly influence by words like inquisitive. Before that, quiz could refer to an odd or unconventional person, a meaning which eventually gave rise to quizzical, still in use today.
Vocabulary lists containing quiz
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.
American director Steven Spielberg made a surprise appearance at a central London pub during a quiz night focused on his own filmography.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
Many readers flunked at least a few questions in the first quiz.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
Take this quiz to test your knowledge about them.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026
Titilope Olotu, a junior double-majoring in biology and women and reproductive health, said she used Bruin Learn to access and complete a quiz before her 8:30 a.m. class.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
When Mrs. Garcia ran out of the room, Poppy pulled the pop quiz out of the file cabinet and snapped a picture with her phone.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
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.
