example

[ ig-zam-puh l, -zahm- ]

/ ɪgˈzæm pəl, -ˈzɑm- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR example ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

a pattern or model, as of something to be imitated or avoided: to set a good example.

an instance serving for illustration; specimen: The case histories gave carefully detailed examples of this disease.

an instance illustrating a rule or method, as a mathematical problem proposed for solution.

an instance, especially of punishment, serving as a warning to others: Public executions were meant to be examples to the populace.

a precedent; parallel case: an action without example.

verb (used with object), ex·am·pled, ex·am·pling.

Rare. to give or be an example of; exemplify (used in the passive).

Nearby words

examine-in-chief, examinee, examiner, examinership, examplar, example, exanimate, exanthem, exanthema, exanthema subitum, exaptation

Origin of example

1350–1400; Middle English exa(u)mple < Middle French example < Latin exemplum, akin to eximere to take out (ex- ex-¹ + emere to buy, orig. take); replacing Middle English exemple < Latin, as above

Synonym study

1. 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. 2. See ideal. 3. See case¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for example

As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Tend to your own garden, to quote the great sage of free speech, Voltaire, and invite people to follow your example.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
With Vice, that was an example of you keeping yourself interested too, right?
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
That makes it incredibly difficult to determine the effects of airstrikes, for example.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

In 2004, for example, Scalise voted “no” on a resolution to make Martin Luther King Jr.
No. 3 Republican Admits Talking to White Supremacist Conference|Tim Mak|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This is an example of drawing for process for rapid printing.
The Art of Illustration|Henry Blackburn
Intuition is seen at its best where it is directly useful, for example in regard to other people's characters and dispositions.
Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays|Bertrand Russell
Some thirty others of the National party followed his example of defiance with a similar result.
The New England Magazine, Volume 1, No. 2, February, 1886.|Various
Down the stairs he ran, and quickly gathered up every crawfish he could find, while others followed his example.
Frank Merriwell's Chums|Burt L. Standish
For example: side or stern ports there were none, deck ventilators being considered sufficient.
Recollections of Thirty-nine Years in the Army|Charles Alexander Gordon

British Dictionary definitions for example

example

/ (ɪɡˈzɑːmpəl) /

noun

a specimen or instance that is typical of the group or set of which it forms part; sample

a person, action, thing, etc, that is worthy of imitation; patternyou must set an example to the younger children

a precedent, illustration of a principle, or modelan example in a maths book

a punishment or the recipient of a punishment serving or intended to serve as a warningthe headmaster made an example of him

for example as an illustration; for instance

verb

(tr; now usually passive) to present an example of; exemplify

Word Origin for example

C14: from Old French, from Latin exemplum pattern, from eximere to take out, from ex- 1 + emere to purchase

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

Idioms and Phrases with example

example

see for example; make an example of; set an example.

example

noun

verb (used with object), ex·am·pled, ex·am·pling.

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Origin of example

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Examples from the Web for example

British Dictionary definitions for example

example

noun

verb

Word Origin for example

Idioms and Phrases with example

example