explore

[ ik-splawr, -splohr ]

See synonyms for: explore explored explores exploring on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),ex·plored, ex·plor·ing.

to traverse or range over (a region, area, etc.) for the purpose of discovery: to explore the island.
to look into closely; scrutinize; examine: Let us explore the possibilities for improvement.

Surgery. to investigate into, especially mechanically, as with a probe.
Obsolete. to search for; search out.

verb (used without object),ex·plored, ex·plor·ing.

to engage in exploration.

Origin of explore

First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin explōrāre “to search out, examine,” equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + plōrāre “to cry out,” probably originally with reference to hunting cries

Other words for explore

2	probe, study, research, investigate, survey

See synonyms for explore on Thesaurus.com

Other words from explore

ex·plor·a·ble, adjective
ex·plor·a·bil·i·ty, noun
ex·plor·ing·ly, adverb
re·ex·plore, verb, re·ex·plored, re·ex·plor·ing.
un·ex·plor·a·ble, adjective
un·ex·plored, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use explore in a sentence

From there they were free to explore two of the three arms of the maze.
Warning! Junk foods can harm a teen’s brain | Sharon Oosthoek | November 19, 2020 | Science News For Students
Confronting the impossible invites us to explore the boundaries of our mathematical worlds.
Some Math Problems Seem Impossible. That Can Be a Good Thing. | Patrick Honner | November 18, 2020 | Quanta Magazine
To explore how that variety might affect future agricultural practices, geochemist Laura Fackrell of the University of Georgia in Athens and colleagues mixed up five new types of faux Mars dirt.
Farming on Mars will be a lot harder than ‘The Martian’ made it seem | Maria Temming | November 18, 2020 | Science News
The obvious territory to explore in the cable news sphere would seem to be on the left.
My two days watching Newsmax, the network waging war on Fox News from the right | Emily VanDerWerff | November 12, 2020 | Vox
After training as a visual artist in the 1960s, he began exploring how to use machines to create something new.
Computers are changing how art is made | Stephen Ornes | November 12, 2020 | Science News For Students

Several women and girls, with a dog, appeared on the marsh, which at low tide was in some parts explorable.
Upon The Tree-Tops | Olive Thorne Miller

British Dictionary definitions for explore

explore

/ (ɪkˈsplɔː) /

verb

(tr) to examine or investigate, esp systematically
to travel to or into (unfamiliar or unknown regions), esp for organized scientific purposes

(tr) med to examine (an organ or part) for diagnostic purposes
(tr) obsolete to search for or out

Origin of explore

C16: from Latin explōrāre, from ex- 1 + plōrāre to cry aloud; probably from the shouts of hunters sighting prey

Derived forms of explore

explorer, noun

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

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