experiment
Americannoun
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a test, trial, or tentative procedure; an act or operation for the purpose of discovering something unknown or of testing a principle, supposition, etc..
a chemical experiment; a teaching experiment; an experiment in living.
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the conducting of such operations; experimentation.
a product that is the result of long experiment.
- Synonyms:
- investigation, research
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Obsolete. experience.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a test or investigation, esp one planned to provide evidence for or against a hypothesis: a scientific experiment
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the act of conducting such an investigation or test; experimentation; research
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an attempt at something new or different; an effort to be original
a poetic experiment
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an obsolete word for experience
verb
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A test or procedure carried out under controlled conditions to determine the validity of a hypothesis or make a discovery.
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See Note at hypothesis
Related Words
See trial.
Other Word Forms
- experimentator noun
- experimenter noun
- experimentor noun
- preexperiment noun
- proexperiment adjective
- reexperiment verb (used without object)
- unexperimented adjective
Etymology
Origin of experiment
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English: “proof,” from Latin experīmentum “test, trial,” from experī(rī) “to test, try” ( experience ) + -mentum -ment
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.
Between experimenting with new sounds, crossing genres with artists like Gwen Stefani, and making the theme red, “Scorpion” felt very intentional.
From Los Angeles Times
In their fiction—mostly novels for Woolf, short stories for Mansfield—they experimented by replacing linear narrative and descriptive detail with suggestion and symbolism.
It was here, where the trees grew thickest and the light was dyed deep green, that she planned to set up her experiment.
From Literature
In laboratory tests, the team experimented with tubes of different lengths, reaching nearly half a meter.
From Science Daily
In experiments involving brainstorming, participants predicted that their best ideas would come early and that additional effort would yield diminishing returns.
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.
