exploratory
Americanadjective
-
pertaining to or concerned with exploration.
an exploratory operation.
-
inclined to make explorations.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of exploratory
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English word from Latin word explōrātōrius. See exploration, -ory 1
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.
Exploratory spacecraft can take 10 years or more to develop and require the assemblage of teams of trained engineers, designers, and other professionals.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2025
Exploratory types are constantly looking for the best food: prey which are easy to digest.
From Science Daily • Jan. 10, 2024
Exploratory drilling is expensive and uncertain, and industry leaders say government backing is required to make that initial phase manageable for companies.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 13, 2023
Indeed, the agency even supports some funding mechanisms that are specially designed to encourage research that is high-risk and high-reward, the most prominent being the Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research program, or EAGER.
From Salon • May 3, 2022
Members of the Atlantic Union Committee could certainly be forgiven if by now they had decided that the Resolution for an Atlantic Exploratory Convention would never pass both Houses of Congress.
From The Invisible Government by Smoot, Dan
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.
