examine
Americanverb (used with object)
-
examines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
examined,
past participle, past
-
examining
present participle
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to inspect or scrutinize carefully.
to examine a prospective purchase.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
to look at, inspect, or scrutinize carefully or in detail; investigate
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
well-examinedadjective
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examininglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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examinesimple
-
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
-
have been examiningperfect progressive
-
has been examiningperfect progressive
Past
-
examinedsimple
-
had examinedperfect
-
was examiningprogressive
-
were examiningprogressive
-
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:
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
The discovery prompted Boina to examine the business more closely.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
To understand why the judge ruled that way, it’s important to go back a decade and examine how the agreement was constructed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
To investigate what people were experiencing, the researchers used AI to examine nearly 150,000 Reddit posts and comments.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026
I need privacy to examine it for clues, and privacy is hard to find around here.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
The second half of “You Can See Everything” examines the conjugal nature of denial and doubt as Seyfried and Fielder begin to worry that Evans is exploiting the now-incarcerated Holmes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
MarketWatch’s Aarthi Swaminathan examines the latest trends in the housing market and offers a few tips for prospective buyers.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
The model examines how metal ions, which are electrically charged forms of metals, may influence this protein buildup.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Lingling Wei takes us behind the scenes of Xi’s Washington visit and examines what the arrangements could mean for China’s leadership.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
There’s a long pause while he examines me.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
To investigate these evolutionary changes, the researchers examined hundreds of fossil and modern specimens housed at the Yale Peabody Museum and dozens of other institutions worldwide.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026
It looks at this rarely examined aspect of his career by considering the loss of his children and the environmental concerns of an island under colonial rule.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
Scientists examined whether differences in participants' genes could help explain why aspirin might affect dementia risk differently from one person to another.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026
Researchers then examined whether these differences translated into protection against major cardiovascular problems.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026
Farmer asked plaintively, not angrily, as he examined the girl.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Dr Matthew Perks at Newcastle University and his colleagues are monitoring the movement of the nurdles and examining how the pellets may deteriorate in water.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
Philippine police are examining materials reportedly discovered by Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., while clearing out their father’s former home in Cebu.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
By examining multiple signals together, researchers hope to develop a more dependable way to distinguish conventional organisms from hypothetical mirror life.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
The board has also played an important role in helping Nasdaq determine which measures to track when examining AI’s effectiveness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
My bed awaits, the nest that it always is, but instead of throwing myself onto it, I find myself examining it.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
