exploration
Americannoun
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explorations
plural
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an act or instance of exploring or investigating; examination.
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the investigation of unknown regions.
noun
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the act or process of exploring
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med examination of an organ or part for diagnostic purposes
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an organized trip into unfamiliar regions, esp for scientific purposes; expedition
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of exploration
First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin explōrātiōn-, stem of explōrātiō “examination,” from explōrāt(us) “searched out, examined” (past participle of explōrāre “to search out, examine”; see explore) + -iō -ion
Explanation
An exploration is a trip, but it's more than just a vacation — it's going somewhere to examine and discover new things. Exploration is what you do when you want to learn more about what's out there in the big wide world. Guys like Christopher Columbus were experts in exploration. Some astronauts devote their lives to the exploration of space, looking for new planets. But you don't have to go any farther than your local library to do your own exploration — when you study or research something, you could say you're doing an exploration of it.
Vocabulary lists containing exploration
Western Europe - Introductory
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Western Europe - Middle School and High School
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The Renaissance and Early Modern European History - Introductory
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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 BCC is calling for an exploration of what a new relationship could look like, and offers nine options, including a customs union, a "Swiss-style" Single Market relationship, and a "Canada model" associate membership.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
It allows Perseverance to cover greater distances without needing people on Earth to repeatedly determine its location, potentially making future exploration faster and more efficient.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026
Australian gas exploration company Santos and Papua New Guinea's national energy company Kumul Petroleum are among the other major partners.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
For now, while exploration is ongoing into whether approving the vaccine to younger populations is warranted, doctors recommend paying close attention to any itchy patches, even areas of skin with no visible rash.
From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2026
From that day on, Uncle Arthur sent Oliver books on a monthly basis—books about superheroes and Greek mythology and pirates and space exploration and presidents.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
Whatever Annabel Lee may have thought, this was the period just before the Beatles got truly weird; the fantastic sonic explorations of “Revolver” would come next.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Users create maps, fictional diary entries, survival guides, found-footage videos and first-person explorations that collectively expand the world.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
He described the vows as "long, entertaining, personal, charming, emotional, irreverent and endearing explorations by each" about how they met and why they wanted to be married.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
The explorations in “Kafkaesque” are ranging and free-associative.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
Forcing himself to rise and carry on, Matthias continued his explorations.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
