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
Synonym Usage
See trial.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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experimentatornoun
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experimenternoun
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experimentornoun
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preexperimentnoun
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proexperimentadjective
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unexperimentedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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experimentsimple
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experimentssimple
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have experimentedperfect
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has experimentedperfect
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am experimentingprogressive
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are experimentingprogressive
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is experimentingprogressive
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have been experimentingperfect progressive
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has been experimentingperfect progressive
Past
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experimentedsimple
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had experimentedperfect
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was experimentingprogressive
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were experimentingprogressive
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had been experimentingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of experiment
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English: “proof,” from Latin experīmentum “test, trial,” from experī(rī) “to test, try” ( see experience) + -mentum -ment
Explanation
If you see your science-loving neighbor headed home with a power cord, a handful of test tubes, a stopwatch, and a bag of potatoes, there’s probably no need to be alarmed. There’s a good chance he’s only conducting an experiment, a scientific test conducted under controlled conditions. To refer to a scientific test, use the noun experiment. If you want to describe the work done in conducting such a test, experiment will do the trick as well, since it can also act as a verb, as in "scientists experiment with helium." You can also use it more generally to describe trying a new method or idea. For example, you could experiment with a new hairstyle or different routes to get to school or work.
Vocabulary lists containing experiment
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 4
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The Scientific Method
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The New SAT: The Language of the Test
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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.
You can use any number of future-value calculators to experiment with different assumptions.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 3, 2026
"Even just by God's grace, being born here, and being a part of American experiment".
From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026
In that way, Morrison’s work was always a radical experiment — and is perhaps why, according to the American Library Assn.,
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2026
Constitution is the oldest written national charter still in use, a 4,543-word framework that has anchored the American experiment for 238 years.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026
This was her experiment: careful, earnest, painfully homemade.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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.
