study
Americannoun
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application of the mind to the acquisition of knowledge, such as by reading, investigation, or reflection.
Long hours of study had made her an expert.
- Synonyms:
- consideration, thought, reading, research, inquiry
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the cultivation of a particular branch of learning, science, or art.
The study of law is challenging for many.
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Often studies. a personal effort to gain knowledge.
She made many sacrifices to pursue her studies.
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something the mind is or will be applied to.
Balzac's study was human nature.
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research or a detailed examination and analysis of a subject, phenomenon, etc..
She made a study of the transistor market for her firm.
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a written account of detailed research, examination, or analysis.
He published a study of Milton's poetry.
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a well-defined, organized branch of learning or knowledge.
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zealous endeavor or assiduous effort.
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the object of endeavor or effort.
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deep thought, reverie, or a state of abstraction.
He was lost in study and did not hear us come in.
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a room, in a house or other building, set apart for private intellectual effort, reading, writing, or the like.
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Also called étude. Music. a composition that combines exercise in technique with a greater or lesser amount of artistic value.
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Literature.
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a literary composition executed for exercise or as an experiment in a particular method of treatment.
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such a composition dealing in detail with a particular subject, as a single main character.
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Art. something produced as an educational exercise, as a memorandum or record of observations or effects, or as a guide for a finished production.
She made a quick pencil sketch of his hands as a study for the full portrait in oils.
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a person, such as an actor, considered in terms of their quickness or slowness in memorizing lines.
He's always been a quick study.
verb (used without object)
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to apply oneself to the acquisition of knowledge, as by reading, investigation, or practice.
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to apply oneself; endeavor.
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to think deeply, reflect, or consider.
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to take a course of learning, as at a college.
verb (used with object)
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to apply oneself to acquiring a knowledge of (a subject).
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to examine or investigate carefully and in detail.
to study the political situation.
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to observe attentively; scrutinize.
to study a person's face.
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to read carefully or intently.
to study a book.
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to endeavor to learn or memorize, as a part in a play.
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to consider, as something to be achieved or devised.
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to think out, as the result of careful consideration or devising.
verb
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to apply the mind to the learning or understanding of (a subject), esp by reading
to study languages
to study all night
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(tr) to investigate or examine, as by observation, research, etc
to study the effects of heat on metal
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(tr) to look at minutely; scrutinize
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(tr) to give much careful or critical thought to
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to take a course in (a subject), as at a college
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(tr) to try to memorize
to study a part for a play
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(intr) to meditate or contemplate; reflect
noun
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the act or process of studying
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( as modifier )
study group
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a room used for studying, reading, writing, etc
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(often plural) work relating to a particular discipline
environmental studies
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an investigation and analysis of a subject, situation, etc
a study of transport provision in rural districts
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a product of studying, such as a written paper or book
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a drawing, sculpture, etc, executed for practice or in preparation for another work
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a musical composition intended to develop one aspect of performing technique
a study in spiccato bowing
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theatre a person who memorizes a part in the manner specified
a quick study
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in a reverie or daydream
Synonym Usage
Study, consider, reflect, weigh imply fixing the mind upon something, generally doing so with a view to some decision or action. Study implies an attempt to obtain a grasp of something by methodical or exhaustive thought: to study a problem. To consider is to fix the thought upon something and give it close attention before making a decision concerning it, or beginning an action connected with it: to consider ways and means. Reflect implies looking back quietly over past experience and giving it consideration: to reflect on similar cases in the past. Weigh implies a deliberate and judicial estimate, as by a balance: to weigh a decision.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonstudynoun
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restudynoun
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studiernoun
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outstudyverb (used with object)
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prestudyverb (used with object)
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studiableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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studysimple
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studiessimple
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have studiedperfect
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has studiedperfect
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am studyingprogressive
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are studyingprogressive
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is studyingprogressive
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have been studyingperfect progressive
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has been studyingperfect progressive
Past
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studiedsimple
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had studiedperfect
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was studyingprogressive
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were studyingprogressive
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had been studyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of study
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun studi(e), from Old French estudie, from Latin studium, equivalent to stud(ēre) “to be busy with, devote oneself to, concentrate on” + -ium -ium; verb ultimately derivative of Latin noun
Explanation
It might seem as if you've gone catatonic, staring at a crack in the sidewalk for so long, but really you're observing it as closely as possible for your study of ant movement. Study has many different senses related to learning or concentrating. You might make a drawing of something you'll paint later — the drawing's a study. Your boss might ask you to do a study of your office's energy use. As a verb, study is for the work you do in the library, or for the act of really taking something in, the way you study your friend's face to see if she really forgot your birthday or if she's just joking.
Vocabulary lists containing study
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 1
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"Return to Titanic" and "Talking with Robert Ballard"
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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:
The pilot study followed women with overweight or obesity who were participating in a six-month weight loss program.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
It runs until regulators finish a generic environmental impact study — or one year, whichever comes first.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Data “help people find order and systemize an incredibly chaotic process,” said Wang, who authored a study on self-datafication and dating spreadsheets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The site was first established in 1945 and pioneered radio astronomy and the study of galaxies beyond our own.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
I gesture for Theo to wait in the guest parlor to the right, while I continue to my mother’s private study, the place where she would plan the week’s menus and write her correspondence.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
This allowed the team to remove much of the environmental variation that complicates cancer studies involving humans.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
He was jailed after an attempt to flee communist Germany but later made his way to West Germany where, following his medical studies, he invented the process to preserve biological specimens in 1977.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Dr. Heather Rogers, a dermatologist in Seattle and founder of the Doctor Rogers skincare line, told me that there are few modern scientific studies examining beef tallow as a skincare ingredient.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
I’m a social work professor who studies how people manage their money and their well-being.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
“And if the children are less than eager to resume their studies, it is no matter,” she told herself, as she hup, hup, hupped down the hallway.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Researchers have long studied how diet and other lifestyle habits relate to dementia risk.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
Weger, who grew up in Madison, Wis., studied cinema during graduate school at NYU and later moved to Los Angeles to work in Hollywood as a producer and stylist, is no minimalist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
The lack of private-school oversight is built straight into the law in most of the states ProPublica studied.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
He is in the early stages of building a center for AI at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem School of Law, where he studied.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
He ended the call and punched in some coordinates on his in-dash GPS, then studied the map.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
The Calamos team tries to identify companies at ideal stages of their growth cycles through “a combination of database screens, interaction of company management teams and studying sell-side analysts models and communicating with sell-side analysts.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Born in the former Soviet Union and raised in Israel, Sutskever was a math prodigy who made his name as a graduate student in Canada studying under the Nobel Prize-winning AI researcher Geoffrey Hinton.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Much of what scientists know about genetic diversity has come from studying changes in individual DNA base pairs, such as an A changing to a G or a T changing to a C.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
Graduation also comes at a time when students are "the least financially resilient", says Allingham, as they have been absorbing the costs of studying all year.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Nell, I wonder if you’d be willing to help me even more today,” Aunt Kitty said, studying my face with a somber expression.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
