experimental
Americanadjective
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pertaining to, derived from, or founded on experiment.
an experimental science.
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of the nature of an experiment; tentative.
The new program is still in an experimental stage.
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functioning as an experiment or used for experimentation.
an experimental airplane.
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based on or derived from experience; empirical.
experimental knowledge.
noun
adjective
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relating to, based on, or having the nature of experiment
an experimental study
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based on or derived from experience; empirical
experimental evidence
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tending to experiment
an experimental artist
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tentative or provisional
an experimental rule in football
Other Word Forms
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nonexperimentaladjective
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postexperimentaladjective
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preexperimentaladjective
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pseudoexperimentaladjective
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quasi-experimentaladjective
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semiexperimentaladjective
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unexperimentaladjective
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experimentallyadverb
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nonexperimentallyadverb
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pseudoexperimentallyadverb
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quasi-experimentallyadverb
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semiexperimentallyadverb
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unexperimentallyadverb
Etymology
Origin of experimental
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Medieval Latin word experīmentālis. See experiment, -al 1
Explanation
The adjective experimental is good for describing things that are still in a trial stage. An experimental drug is usually tested in a lab for years before being used on patients. Something that's experimental is at an early stage, being observed, tested out, and subjected to experiments as it's being developed. An experimental space craft might be launched and watched from afar as scientists decide what changes to make before it can be used for human space exploration. Experimental medicines are sometimes tested on animals before they're given to people. The 15th century meaning was "having experience," from the Latin root experimentum, "test or trial."
Vocabulary lists containing experimental
Awkward
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Content Summary 5.1: Causes of the Atlantic Revolutions
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for July 3–July 9, 2021
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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.
If 20% of the $80 billion donated to higher ed went to experimental and disruptive ventures, that would be about $16 billion a year—enough to begin transforming the landscape.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
The researchers next used time-resolved characterization methods at the University of Geneva to identify the best experimental conditions and timescales for the X-ray measurements.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
Eli Lilly’s experimental cancer treatment, olomorasib, receives orphan drug designation from the Food and Drug Administration.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
Vaxcyte shares surged 31% to $73.82 after the drug maker’s experimental pneumonia vaccine compared favorably to two currently available shots in a late-stage clinical trial.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
What made the Scientific Revolution, Latour argues, is not the experimental method, or commercial society—both had been around for centuries—but the printing press, which turned private information into public knowledge, private experience into communal experience.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
