investigate
Americanverb (used with object)
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investigates,
present (3rd person singular)
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investigated,
past participle, past
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investigating
present participle
-
to examine, study, or inquire into systematically; search or examine into the particulars of; examine in detail.
-
to search out and examine the particulars of in an attempt to learn the facts about something hidden, unique, or complex, especially in an attempt to find a motive, cause, or culprit.
The police are investigating the murder.
verb (used without object)
-
investigates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
investigated,
past participle, past
-
investigating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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investigatornoun
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preinvestigatornoun
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preinvestigateverb
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reinvestigateverb
-
investigableadjective
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investigativeadjective
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investigatoryadjective
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quasi-investigatedadjective
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uninvestigatedadjective
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uninvestigatingadjective
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uninvestigativeadjective
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uninvestigatoryadjective
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well-investigatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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investigatesimple
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investigatessimple
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have investigatedperfect
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has investigatedperfect
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am investigatingprogressive
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are investigatingprogressive
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is investigatingprogressive
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have been investigatingperfect progressive
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has been investigatingperfect progressive
Past
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investigatedsimple
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had investigatedperfect
-
was investigatingprogressive
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were investigatingprogressive
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had been investigatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of investigate
First recorded in 1500–10; from Latin investīgātus, past participle of investīgāre “to follow a trail, search out”; see in- 2, vestige, -ate 1
Explanation
To investigate is to look into something systematically. If you don't understand how tornadoes work, for example, investigate the forces of wind and find out. Investigate still acts a lot like the word it comes from, investigationem meaning "a searching into," which came from the Latin for "to track a footprint." It's exactly what you do when you investigate. You can investigate in the name of science, which is to look into something systematically, like when you research how tornadoes work. If you investigate a person, you find out everything you can — and you might need to hire a private eye for help.
Vocabulary lists containing investigate
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List 8
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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:
Astronomers can then investigate the most promising findings in greater detail.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026
The Rome Statute allows the court to intervene in most cases only when national authorities are unwilling or unable to investigate abuses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
Like others whom AFP spoke to, Abu Haikal consulted a lawyer to push the army to investigate the incident fully.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
She said Ochoa’s cruelty toward his own people is what motivated her to help other victims and push the authorities to investigate him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
I watch it investigate the pizza scraps strewn across the ground.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Slate staff writer Heather Schwedel investigates why lamination—a hallmark of an organized classroom—has such a hold on both kids and grown-ups.
From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2026
Alan Ritchson will pop in as a guest star, as Neagley investigates the mysterious death of an old friend.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
"Arnie is very curious, she investigates everything, and headbutts things," said Sear.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Lizbeth Gwisdalla, who said the department regularly investigates these types of online rental scams.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
He just investigates on his own like he’s in an art gallery.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
More recently, Wachtell investigated allegations that veteran point guard Terry Rozier took himself out of a game so gamblers could win bets on his performance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Following the incident, there was a "technical failure" in a unit at the power plant, and a possible connection was being investigated, it said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
For decades, physicists have investigated superconductors—materials capable of carrying electrical current with zero energy loss.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026
In one case investigated by Austrian broadcaster ORF, part of the EBU network, Austrian police raided what they called "the biggest hawala office in Vienna".
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
And Kaan is just one of the score of Maya settlements that in the last few decades have been investigated for the first time.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
This week, German officials said they were investigating two failed power-station attacks but didn’t say who was responsible.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
The Justice Department is investigating the top four U.S. meatpackers—including JBS—over whether the companies are engaged in anticompetitive behavior.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
The group chat, which contained more than 82,000 messages sent between late February and December 2022, was first uncovered by Belgian investigating magistrate Vincent Guerra.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
Researchers at ULiège, supported by the Stop Alzheimer's Foundation, are investigating whether the sleeping brain may contain early clues.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 29, 2026
A little later Frodo came out of the study to see how things were going on and found her still about the place, investigating nooks and corners and tapping the floors.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
