example
Americannoun
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examples
plural
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one of a number of things, or a part of something, taken to show the character of the whole.
This painting is an example of his early work.
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a pattern or model, as of something to be imitated or avoided.
to set a good example.
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an instance serving for illustration; a representative case.
The case histories gave carefully detailed examples of this disease.
- Synonyms:
- representative, prototype, instance, illustration, exemplification, exemplar, case
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an instance illustrating a rule or method, as a mathematical problem proposed for solution.
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an instance, especially of punishment, serving as a warning to others.
Public executions were meant to be examples to the populace.
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a precedent; parallel case.
an action without example.
verb (used with object)
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examples,
present (3rd person singular)
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exampled,
past participle, past
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exampling
present participle
noun
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a specimen or instance that is typical of the group or set of which it forms part; sample
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a person, action, thing, etc, that is worthy of imitation; pattern
you must set an example to the younger children
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a precedent, illustration of a principle, or model
an example in a maths book
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a punishment or the recipient of a punishment serving or intended to serve as a warning
the headmaster made an example of him
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as an illustration; for instance
verb
Synonym Usage
Example, sample, specimen refer to an individual phenomenon taken as representative of a type, or to a part representative of the whole. Example is used of an object, condition, etc., that is assumed to illustrate a certain principle or standard: a good example of baroque architecture. Sample refers to a small portion of a substance or to a single representative of a group or type that is intended to show what the rest of the substance or the group is like: a sample of yarn. Specimen usually suggests that the “sample” chosen is intended to serve a scientific or technical purpose: a blood specimen; zoological specimens. See ideal. See case 1.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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examplesimple
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examplessimple
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have exampledperfect
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has exampledperfect
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am examplingprogressive
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are examplingprogressive
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is examplingprogressive
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have been examplingperfect progressive
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has been examplingperfect progressive
Past
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exampledsimple
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had exampledperfect
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was examplingprogressive
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were examplingprogressive
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had been examplingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of example
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English exa(u)mple, from Middle French example, from Latin exemplum, akin to eximere “to take out,” from ex- ex- 1 + emere “to buy,” originally “to take”; replacing Middle English exemple, from Latin, as above
Explanation
An example is a particular instance of something that is representative of a group, or an illustration of something that's been generally described. Example comes from the Latin word for "specimen." If you want an example of mainstream teen fashion, find a 13-year old in a mall. If you set a good example, then you show your peers how they should behave. But if you’re an unrepentant criminal and you keep getting in trouble, a judge might give you a really long prison sentence, as an example to other unrepentant criminals out there.
Vocabulary lists containing example
PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Argumentative Writing
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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:
"It's a classic example of corporate greed over valuing customers," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
If the data were collected at different times, for example, some of the information -- especially on a fluid process like gaining US citizenship -- could be out-of-date, he explained.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The tumors have to be a certain size, for example, according to Christopher.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
For example, items ordered online and picked up in store parking lots are counted as e-commerce sales, he said, so increasingly stores are a digital-fulfillment node that enable speedy delivery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Justice Edmonds, for example, had attended a séance at a Spiritualist’s home in New York City, joining a circle of about twenty people standing around the room.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Today, surviving examples are "exceptionally scarce", according to antique shop WeBuyVintage, which has valued the item at £2,500.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
It’s hard to find any modern examples of the corporate death penalty, but that doesn’t mean critics of abusive business haven’t attempted to invoke it.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
Here are a few examples that come to mind.
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
They are getting headlines for the wrong reasons and setting bad examples for the young women in middle school and high school who emulate them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
One could cite countless examples on this subject, but I shall be satisfied with only the one that occurred during the time of our fathers.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
“We’ve made tremendous progress, and that progress is exampled all across the state of California — but not equally,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2022
Among the new locations are any place children “gather,” with exampled such as playgrounds, daycare facilities and school bus stops.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 27, 2021
The Arbitration Treaty form is well exampled in the German-Czecho-Slovakian treaty of 22 articles.
From Time Magazine Archive
Burke devoted himself to this duty with a fervid assiduity that has not often been exampled, and has never been surpassed.
From Burke by John Morley
The doings of the Black Prince might, also be exampled as inducing the study of the geography of northern France.
From She and I, Volume 2 A Love Story. A Life History. by John C. (John Conroy) Hutcheson
In an ecstasy of tender contemplation he turns from those to these, exampling Julia from the rose and pitying the hapless violets as though they were indeed not blooms insensitive but actually ‘poor girls neglected.’
From Views and Reviews Essays in appreciation by William Ernest Henley
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.
