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

Word Origin and History for example

example

late 14c., partial re-Latinization of earlier essample, asaumple (mid-13c.), from Old French essemple "sample, model, example, precedent, cautionary tale," from Latin exemplum "a sample," literally "that which is taken out," from eximere "take out, remove" (see exempt (adj.)). Oldest English senses are of "behavior" and "punishment."

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

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for example

British Dictionary definitions for example

example

noun

verb

Word Origin for example

Word Origin and History for example

example

Idioms and Phrases with example

example