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:
One visible example was that older animals developed fewer grey hairs.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
I want to revive and kind of expand on that because we now have the real-life example of the birthright citizenship case.
From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2026
He said: "This is a brilliant example of a local catch staying local, reducing the need to transport fish long distances and showcasing the quality of the Cornish sardine."
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
The firm helped build, for example, a tool that screens for a rare neuromuscular disorder called myasthenia gravis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Scientists from 2199 could die from an ordinary illness in another timeprint, for example, because they have no immunity against it.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Included in the show are examples of her experimental photo processes and more traditional media such as Polaroids and inkjet prints.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
While some situations may sound farcical, Brewis said he had plenty of real life examples to draw on as inspiration.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 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
So many of the scenarios on these apps present classic examples of a perverse incentive, in which the structure of a system encourages undesirable results.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
He showed them other examples, and they decided that as long as we disabled comments and didn’t have any way for people to find out personal information about me, it was okay with them.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
“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
Dicky, already zealous at work as exampled in rush bag-making, listened with wistful pride.
From A Child of the Jago by Arthur Morrison
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.
