explore
Americanverb (used with object)
-
explores,
present (3rd person singular)
-
explored,
past participle, past
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exploring
present participle
-
to traverse or range over (a region, area, etc.) for the purpose of discovery.
to explore the island.
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to look into closely; scrutinize; examine.
Let us explore the possibilities for improvement.
- Synonyms:
- survey, investigate, research, study, probe
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Surgery. to investigate into, especially mechanically, as with a probe.
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Obsolete. to search for; search out.
verb (used without object)
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explores,
present (3rd person singular)
-
explored,
past participle, past
-
exploring
present participle
verb
-
(tr) to examine or investigate, esp systematically
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to travel to or into (unfamiliar or unknown regions), esp for organized scientific purposes
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(tr) med to examine (an organ or part) for diagnostic purposes
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obsolete (tr) to search for or out
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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explorabilitynoun
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explorernoun
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reexploreverb
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explorableadjective
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unexplorableadjective
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unexploredadjective
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exploringlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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exploresimple
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exploressimple
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have exploredperfect
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has exploredperfect
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am exploringprogressive
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are exploringprogressive
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is exploringprogressive
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have been exploringperfect progressive
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has been exploringperfect progressive
Past
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exploredsimple
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had exploredperfect
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was exploringprogressive
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were exploringprogressive
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had been exploringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of explore
First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin explōrāre “to search out, examine,” equivalent to ex- ex- 1 ( def. ) + plōrāre “to cry out,” probably originally with reference to hunting cries
Explanation
Explore is a verb that means "to travel in or through." You might explore an island, a European city, or the rooms of an unfamiliar house. The Latin root of explore is explorare, meaning "investigate or search out." When you explore a new place, you want to see interesting things and get to know its people. Whenever you delve into something, or investigate it, you explore it. You can even explore an interest, like when you explore African art, or explore an idea or tendency in order to understand it — you can explore your fear of snakes to try to get over it.
Vocabulary lists containing explore
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade 11)
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Words Middle Schoolers Should Use for Comparing and Contrasting Texts
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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:
"Then they go off afterwards and explore things together, which is brilliant."
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
He also draws on his own experience of epilepsy to explore the fear of mental disintegration, having written to his doctor in 1867 that he was “afraid of going mad or falling into idiocy.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Future experiments could extend this approach to more complicated quantum systems, allowing researchers to explore models of the Big Bang and the Big Crunch in greater detail.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
NASA’s La Cañada Flintridge-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory built this snakelike machine with the goal of one day using it to explore difficult-to-reach places on other planets, moons or asteroids.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Other rooms lay beyond the one where she stood, but Nhamo didn’t have the courage to explore them.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
The show explores what Poehler calls a “distinctly Gen X” assumption: that productivity equals self-worth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
Genna Contino explores how to make this make this crucial decision.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
Alison Green, the advice maven behind Ask a Manager, explores what makes some employees so resistant to quitting a toxic job.
From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026
To overcome these limitations, the researchers revisited the foundational principles of transformation thermotics, a field that explores how heat can be redirected through specially designed materials.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
Chapter 6 explores the numerous factors driving the shift from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle toward food production, in some areas but not in others.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Times Holiday Gift Guide, we selected, tested and explored gift ideas for everyone on your list.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026
Instacart also explored a sale in 2021, when its shares were trading at a significantly higher price and the company controlled more of the food delivery market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
It is understood Howe and Nagelsmann both feature prominently on the list of candidates the club has explored to potentially replace him, and that both managers are aware of United's interest.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
Fungi remain one of the least thoroughly explored groups of organisms, and researchers believe their chemical diversity could provide valuable clues about biology, medicine, and the nervous system.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026
Penelope saw him several times in the common room of the barracks as she and the children explored their temporary quarters.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
In 2024, the company hired its first researcher to study “model welfare,” conducting experiments exploring the subjective experiences and potential consciousness of AI, and whether it requires moral consideration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
The discovery is already influencing research in Shipman's laboratory, where scientists are exploring ways to transform the type VI retron's natural machinery into useful technologies.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
Earlier this month, the group of women spent a week exploring the north coast, visiting the Giant's Causeway, the Dark Hedges and Londonderry.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
Ben & Jerry’s founders have been exploring a deal with an executive of private-equity firm KKR to separate their brand from Magnum Ice Cream.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
I feel even worse that Nyla will keep him from exploring Sagan himself.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
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