exploration
Americannoun
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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
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.
Richard Jackson, senior vice president and chief operating officer, will take over as CEO of the oil-and-gas exploration company from Hollub upon her retirement on June 1, according to Occidental Petroleum.
From Barron's • May 1, 2026
"I think the immediate result of the war in Iran has been increased pressure to support new North Sea exploration and development," he says.
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
The success of this method is shaping future exploration plans.
From Science Daily • Apr. 28, 2026
An accomplished saxophonist as well as a professor of physics at Brown University, Mr. Alexander posits that the music Coltrane made in his late performances was an exploration of applied relativity.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
The voyage probably never took place, but it would have been one of discovery rather than exploration.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
