Synonyms

exam

¹ American

[ig-zam] / ɪgˈzæm /

noun

Informal.

an examination, as in school.

exam. ² American

abbreviation

examination.
examined.
examinee.
examiner.

exam British

/ ɪɡˈzæm /

noun

short for examination

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of exam

First recorded in 1875–80; short form

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.

President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said that it was "intolerable" that the revision books for the French school leavers' exam, the baccalaureat, "falsify the facts" about the "terrorist and antisemitic attacks by Hamas".

From Barron's

On reading exams, a third of high-school seniors scored “below basic,” the bottom threshold, and nearly half lacked the ability to perform rudimentary math computations.

From The Wall Street Journal

One teacher described the return to classrooms and exams as "a miracle."

From Science Daily

Students in Scotland, where there is a different set of exams for pupils at 16, have been able to get their results through an online app since 2019.

From BBC

Currently, novice motorists can book a practical test as soon as they have passed a theory exam.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023