examine
Americanverb (used with object)
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examines,
present (3rd person singular)
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examined,
past participle, past
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examining
present participle
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to inspect or scrutinize carefully.
to examine a prospective purchase.
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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.
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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.
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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
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to look at, inspect, or scrutinize carefully or in detail; investigate
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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
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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
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subexaminernoun
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superexaminernoun
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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
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well-examinedadjective
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examininglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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examinesimple
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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
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have been examiningperfect progressive
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has been examiningperfect progressive
Past
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examinedsimple
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had examinedperfect
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was examiningprogressive
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were examiningprogressive
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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:
The UFU wanted an independent panel of experts to examine the circumstances of the cull which took place on a Fivemiletown farm on 29 and 30 June.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Plus, we examine why Big Tech’s AI spending is $3 trillion higher than it seems, and how Burger King overtook Wendy’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
In their coalition agreement for governing the city, the Social Democrats and liberals pledged to expand public toilet provision and examine whether public toilets could be made free for everyone.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
They also give researchers a new way to examine well-known objects such as the Rosette and Orion nebulae using detailed spectroscopic information spread across large areas of the sky.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
After a moment, she held him at arm’s length to examine him.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
A comparative literature professor at Stanford University, his forthcoming book, “What Tech Calls Governing,” examines the increasingly authoritarian politics of Silicon Valley.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
The report, due in the autumn, examines the experiences of Jewish pupils and staff in faith and secular schools and colleges in England.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
A counterfeit works only until someone examines it, and Judge Williams already has.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
Sosnick quotes a post on LinkedIn by Henry Schwartz in which the vice president of market intelligence at Cboe examines trading in S&P 500 options.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
She sets aside her spade and examines me.
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
Those and other purchase obligations at the companies the Journal examined stand at a whopping $1.9 trillion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
The team also separated the light coming from the galaxy itself from the light produced by its nucleus and examined whether the object emitted X-rays.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
The researchers also examined data from people with triple-negative breast cancer to determine whether the same biological pattern might occur in humans.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
Satellite images examined by BBC Verify show shrunken glaciers, scorched areas left by wildfires, green fields turned arid and lower river levels.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
He examined the progress of the match and said, “You’re good.”
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
Work includes examining the accident site, the derailed train and railway infrastructure.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
"We are also examining how much can be transported by road, via alternative routes."
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Walter, the 66-year-old CEO of Guggenheim Partners, is in the crosshairs of a federal investigation examining the inner workings of his financial empire.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
The researchers began by examining happiness, since earlier research has suggested that positive human expressions may be especially meaningful to dogs.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
As Roz continued examining the control room, she realized the station could do many tasks by itself, but it couldn’t do everything, and signs of its human operators were all around.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
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.
