query
Americannoun
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a question; an inquiry.
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mental reservation; doubt.
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Printing. a question mark (?), especially as added on a manuscript, proof sheet, or the like, indicating doubt as to some point in the text.
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an inquiry from a writer to an editor of a magazine, newspaper, etc., regarding the acceptability of or interest in an idea for an article, news story, or the like: usually presented in the form of a letter that outlines or describes the projected piece.
verb (used with object)
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to ask or inquire about.
No one queried his presence.
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to question as doubtful or obscure.
to query a statement.
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Printing. to mark (a manuscript, proof sheet, etc.) with a query.
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to ask questions of.
noun
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a question, esp one expressing doubt, uncertainty, or an objection
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a less common name for question mark
verb
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to express uncertainty, doubt, or an objection concerning (something)
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to express as a query
"What's up now?" she queried
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to put a question to (a person); ask
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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querysimple
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queriessimple
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have queriedperfect
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has queriedperfect
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am queryingprogressive
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are queryingprogressive
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is queryingprogressive
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have been queryingperfect progressive
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has been queryingperfect progressive
Past
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queriedsimple
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had queriedperfect
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was queryingprogressive
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were queryingprogressive
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had been queryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of query
First recorded in 1625–35; alteration (with the influence of -y 3 ) of earlier quere, from Latin quaere quaere
Explanation
A query is a question, or the search for a piece of information. The Latin root quaere means "to ask" and it's the basis of the words inquiry, question, quest, request, and query. Query often fits the bill when referring to Internet searches, polite professional discourse, and subtle pleas. You could query as to the whereabouts of the lavatory, but you'd sound a bit prim and be better off asking "Where's the toilet?" If your job entails dealing with annoying questions and complaints, you could make it sound better by proclaiming, "I respond to customer queries."
Vocabulary lists containing query
For Grilled Cheese Day, Vocab with a Twist
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Instead of "Said": Words for Asking and Offering
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Where the Red Fern Grows
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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:
"We've been crying out for a long time that there needs to be something, anything at all. My query there is how long are they going to be stuck in the system?"
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
“How come he’s a man, and you’re a—.” Ruthye’s subsequent query is cut off by the plot starting up again, and the gendered difference between the two names is never brought up again.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
Regarding your specific query: One firing typically doesn’t signal mass layoffs.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 12, 2026
The White House did not respond to a query about the lineup changes.
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
Every couple of days he’ll startle the directress with some unanswerable query: “Why do we get hiccups, Frau Elena?”
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
“While investors may have thought of Copilot as an AI model in itself, it is already working as a tool that helps funnel queries and tasks to the appropriate model,” he wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
People spent $1.2 million betting on these queries, according to Aeon magazine.
From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2026
Defying fears it would be disrupted, Google’s core search business also seems to be getting a boost from AI, with queries at an all-time high.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
The company also unveiled its first-ever TPU customized for inference, the type of AI computing involved in serving queries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
“They’re Imperiused,” he added, in response to Hermione and Ron’s confused queries about Travers and Bogrod, who were both now standing there looking blank.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
In written follow-up questions sent after his hearing last week, Democrats queried him on issues from interest-rate policy to concerns about his independence from the White House.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
The information is stored in a database that can be queried by U.S. spooks and often goes into the President’s daily intelligence briefing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
Another frustrated user described the Kindle as "probably one of the most low-tech devices ever made" and queried why Amazon was discontinuing its support for it.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026
When queried about competing with customers at a press conference, Haas said, “It is a massive, massive market. We think there’s room for lots of different players, so we’re not really too worried about that.”
From Barron's ● Mar. 24, 2026
“Well, what do you see, young one?” queried Methuselah.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
An October 2025 report from the Justice Department Inspector General found that the FBI has “implemented all of RISAA’s querying reforms” and that the number of noncompliant queries had been “reduced substantially.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
After the comedian riffs with the “patient,” the audience weighs in on the issue with green and red “thumbs up/thumbs down” paddles, often yelling out comments or directly querying the participant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026
Wolff was also receiving advice from Epstein, at one point querying him about the best questions to ask Trump in a coming Oval Office interview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 15, 2025
But residents reacted with a mix of anger and confusion on local social media groups, with many querying the council's motives.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2025
"I'll be querying them about the carriage, showing the false orders Willem created. I'll draw it out as long as I can, but you'll have barely any time, and they absolutely cannot see you."
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
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.
