example

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

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).

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. 2018

Related Words for example

case, pattern, symbol, object, illustration, part, lesson, precedent, prototype, copy, stereotype, specimen, citation, paragon, standard, sample, excuse, ideal, exemplar, representation

Examples from the Web for example

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of example

Politics, for example, would be less entertaining without it.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Man followed their example and searched until he found an empty grotto.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
That one example, moreover, has been a success as unqualified as undeniable.
'Tis Sixty Years Since
Charles Francis Adams
How little has been the effect of this example on the conduct of the enemy!
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
Following the example of his predecessor, in 1868, Mr. Gladstone resigned.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook

British Dictionary definitions for example

example

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

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.