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experiment

[noun ik-sper-uh-muhnt; verb ek-sper-uh-ment]
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noun
  1. 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.
  2. the conducting of such operations; experimentation: a product that is the result of long experiment.
  3. Obsolete. experience.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to try or test, especially in order to discover or prove something: to experiment with a new procedure.
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Origin of experiment

1325–75; Middle English: proof < Latin experīmentum. See experience, -ment
Related formsex·per·i·ment·er, ex·per·i·men·tor, ex·per·i·men·ta·tor, nounpre·ex·per·i·ment, nounpro·ex·per·i·ment, adjectivere·ex·per·i·ment, verb (used without object), nounun·ex·per·i·ment·ed, adjective

Synonyms

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2. research, investigation.

Synonym study

1. See trial.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

exploreanalyzeexaminediagnosesamplesearchassayproveverifystudyproberesearchtryscrutinizeventureweighspeculate

Examples from the Web for experimenting

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I have been experimenting with that type-writer, Mr. Roberts, all the week.

  • You know how keen my father is about experimenting with the land?

    The Coryston Family

    Mrs. Humphry Ward

  • It is man who constitutes the changing, the experimenting, sex.

    The Truth About Woman

    C. Gasquoine Hartley

  • He has been experimenting in mathematical physics, and I have been assisting him.

    The Einstein See-Saw

    Miles John Breuer

  • It was not necessary that he should see my face in order to know with whom he was experimenting.

    Telepathy

    W. W. Baggally

British Dictionary definitions for experimenting

experiment

noun (ɪkˈspɛrɪmənt)
  1. a test or investigation, esp one planned to provide evidence for or against a hypothesis: a scientific experiment
  2. the act of conducting such an investigation or test; experimentation; research
  3. an attempt at something new or different; an effort to be originala poetic experiment
  4. an obsolete word for experience
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verb (ɪkˈspɛrɪˌmɛnt)
  1. (intr) to make an experiment or experiments
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Derived Formsexperimenter, noun

Word Origin

C14: from Latin experīmentum proof, trial, from experīrī to test; see experience
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for experimenting

experiment

n.

mid-14c., from Old French esperment "practical knowledge, cunning, enchantment; trial, proof, example, lesson," from Latin experimentum "a trial, test, proof, experiment," noun of action from experiri "to test, try" (see experience).

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experiment

v.

late 15c., from experiment (n.). Related: Experimented; experimenting.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
experimenting in Medicine

experiment

(ĭk-spĕr′ə-mənt)
n.
  1. A test under controlled conditions that is made to demonstrate a known truth, to examine the validity of a hypothesis, or to determine the efficacy of something previously untried.
  2. The process of conducting such a test; experimentation.
  3. An innovative act or procedure.
  4. The result of experimentation.
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v.
  1. To conduct an experiment.
  2. To try something new, especially in order to gain experience.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
experimenting in Science

experiment

[ĭk-spĕr′ə-mənt]
  1. A test or procedure carried out under controlled conditions to determine the validity of a hypothesis or make a discovery. See Note at hypothesis.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.