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• explorer
  explorer

  noun

  a person or thing that explores.
• Explorer
  Explorer

  noun

  a member of the senior branch of the Scouts

explorer

American  

[ik-splawr-er] / ɪkˈsplɔr ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that explores.

2. a person who investigates unknown regions.

   the great explorers of the Renaissance.

3. any instrument used in exploring or sounding a wound, a cavity in a tooth, or the like.

4. Also called Explorer Scout.  (initial capital letter) a person between the ages 14 and 20 who is an active participant in the exploring program sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America.

5. (initial capital letter) one of a long series of U.S. scientific satellites: Explorer 1 (1958) was the first U.S. artificial satellite.

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Explorer ¹ British  

/ ɪkˈsplɔːrə /

noun

1. Brit equivalent: Venture Scout.  a member of the senior branch of the Scouts

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Explorer ² British  

/ ɪkˈsplɔːrə /

noun

1. any of the first series of US satellites. Explorer 1 , launched in 1958, confirmed the existence of intense radiation belts around the earth

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Etymology

Origin of explorer

First recorded in 1675–85; explore + -er ¹

Explanation

An explorer is a person who sets out to discover something by going somewhere unfamiliar. You might think Marco Polo is just a game to play in the pool, but Marco Polo was actually a famous explorer in the 13th century. In ancient Greece, the explorer Pytheas travelled to what is now Great Britain and Germany, and the Chinese explorer Wang Dayuan explored the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea in the second century BCE. More recently, explorers have voyaged to the moon and outer space. Before the late seventeenth century, this kind of adventurer was called an exploratour, from the Latin root explorare, "examine or investigate."

Example Sentences

DeMarco said two other lawsuits also involving the department’s Explorer program are pending.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

Peter had a 35-year career in children's books and also illustrated characters including Fireman Sam, Postman Pat, Dora the Explorer and Barbie.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

Launched on November 22, 2013, as the fourth Earth Explorer mission, the satellites were designed to test advanced Earth observation technologies.

From Science Daily • Feb. 25, 2026

Midtier options like the Explorer and Quest cards, which carry annual fees of $150 and $350, respectively, pay for themselves quickly for frequent flyers, Rossman noted.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 19, 2026

Explorer I was launched with a scientific unit that discovered the magnetic radiation belts around the Earth, later known as the Van Allen belts.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson