example

[ ig-zam-puhl, -zahm- ]

noun

1. one of a number of things, or a part of something, taken to show the character of the whole:

   This painting is an example of his early work.

   Synonyms: specimen, sample

2. a pattern or model, as of something to be imitated or avoided:

   to set a good example.

   Synonyms: lead, precedent, template, standard, pattern, paradigm, model, ideal, exemplar

3. an instance serving for illustration; a representative case:

   The case histories gave carefully detailed examples of this disease.

   Synonyms: representative, prototype, instance, illustration, exemplification, exemplar, case

4. an instance illustrating a rule or method, as a mathematical problem proposed for solution.
5. an instance, especially of punishment, serving as a warning to others:

   Public executions were meant to be examples to the populace.

6. a precedent; parallel case:

   an action without example.

verb (used with object)

, ex·am·pled, ex·am·pling.

1. Rare. to give or be an example of; exemplify (used in the passive).

example

/ ɪɡˈzɑːmpəl /

noun

1. a specimen or instance that is typical of the group or set of which it forms part; sample
2. a person, action, thing, etc, that is worthy of imitation; pattern

   you must set an example to the younger children

3. a precedent, illustration of a principle, or model

   an example in a maths book

4. a punishment or the recipient of a punishment serving or intended to serve as a warning

   the headmaster made an example of him

5. for example
   as an illustration; for instance

verb

1. tr; now usually passive to present an example of; exemplify

Word History and Origins

Origin of example¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English exa(u)mple, from Middle French example, from Latin exemplum, akin to eximere “to take out,” from ex- ex- ¹ + emere “to buy,” originally “to take”; replacing Middle English exemple, from Latin, as above

Word History and Origins

Origin of example¹

C14: from Old French, from Latin exemplum pattern, from eximere to take out, from ex- ¹+ emere to purchase

Idioms and Phrases

see for example ; make an example of ; set an example .

Synonym Study

Example, sample, specimen refer to an individual phenomenon taken as representative of a type, or to a part representative of the whole. Example is used of an object, condition, etc., that is assumed to illustrate a certain principle or standard: a good example of baroque architecture. Sample refers to a small portion of a substance or to a single representative of a group or type that is intended to show what the rest of the substance or the group is like: a sample of yarn. Specimen usually suggests that the “sample” chosen is intended to serve a scientific or technical purpose: a blood specimen; zoological specimens. See ideal. See case ¹.

Example Sentences

As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.

From The Daily Beast

Tend to your own garden, to quote the great sage of free speech, Voltaire, and invite people to follow your example.

From The Daily Beast

With Vice, that was an example of you keeping yourself interested too, right?

From The Daily Beast

That makes it incredibly difficult to determine the effects of airstrikes, for example.

From The Daily Beast

In 2004, for example, Scalise voted “no” on a resolution to make Martin Luther King Jr.

From The Daily Beast

The afternoon was a lovely one—the day was a perfect example of the mellowest mood of autumn.

From Project Gutenberg

After an eight weeks' siege, a breach having been made, the city surrendered, and a month later the fort followed the example.

From Project Gutenberg

Their sin began on Holy Thursday, with so little secrecy and so bad an example, that the affair was beginning to leak out.

From Project Gutenberg

The book contains many words in which some though not all of the letters are in italics, for example Swordsman.

From Project Gutenberg

For example, there is a vast discussion afoot upon the questions that centre upon Property, its rights and its limitations.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• case
• illustration
• lesson
• object
• part
• pattern
• precedent
• symbol