experimental
Americanadjective
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pertaining to, derived from, or founded on experiment.
an experimental science.
-
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
-
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
- experimentally adverb
- nonexperimental adjective
- nonexperimentally adverb
- postexperimental adjective
- preexperimental adjective
- pseudoexperimental adjective
- pseudoexperimentally adverb
- quasi-experimental adjective
- quasi-experimentally adverb
- semiexperimental adjective
- semiexperimentally adverb
- unexperimental adjective
- unexperimentally adverb
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.
"We showed that we can use AI to discover new physics," says Justin Burton, an Emory professor of experimental physics and senior co-author of the paper.
From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2026
The findings, published in PNAS, come from a collaboration between experimental and theoretical physicists at Emory University.
From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2026
I’m hoping a more experimental, exploratory approach to providing information, context and interpretation, in keeping with the rest of the enterprise, might yet come.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
There have been other experimental vaccines targeting this strain.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
One encyclopedia had a sentence of praise for us: “The common rat is highly valued as an experimental animal in medical research due to his toughness, intelligence, versatility and biological similarity to man.”
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
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.
