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:
In a 1963 Canadian Parliamentary committee, for example, a witness from the chemical industry prominently cited it as reason chemical pesticides were required: to feed the approaching population explosion.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
The National Museum of China holds a smaller example of this type dearly enough to have declared it a national treasure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
The council did not intercede, for example, two years ago when LA28 stopped its previous practice of naming contractors that it had paid more than $1 million.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Consider this example: A service brings in $100 and costs $60 to deliver, leaving $40 before other expenses.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Research can be conducted by AI, for example, instead of humans.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Past examples of companies repeatedly coming to that market for funding included Tyco and Enron.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
The BBC also contacted a number of healthcare organisations whose logos appeared on Synetal Solutions' website as examples of employers where graduates had worked.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Among the more spectacular examples from St. Vitus is the 1465 reliquary tablet of the diocesan administrator Hanuš of Kolowrat by Master Martin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
The secretary’s examples of Western heroism were the Spartans at Thermopylae and the philosopher Socrates, both of whom, he said, illustrate the “Western” willingness to “pay any cost for a cause worthy of his loyalty.”
From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026
“Yes, they are. We’ll be looking at some lovely examples in our next lab.”
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
“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
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 this young wood of Taahauku all these hues and combinations were exampled and repeated by the score.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 18 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson
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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
