exploration
Americannoun
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explorations
plural
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an act or instance of exploring or investigating; examination.
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the investigation of unknown regions.
noun
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the act or process of exploring
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med examination of an organ or part for diagnostic purposes
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an organized trip into unfamiliar regions, esp for scientific purposes; expedition
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of exploration
First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin explōrātiōn-, stem of explōrātiō “examination,” from explōrāt(us) “searched out, examined” (past participle of explōrāre “to search out, examine”; see explore) + -iō -ion
Explanation
An exploration is a trip, but it's more than just a vacation — it's going somewhere to examine and discover new things. Exploration is what you do when you want to learn more about what's out there in the big wide world. Guys like Christopher Columbus were experts in exploration. Some astronauts devote their lives to the exploration of space, looking for new planets. But you don't have to go any farther than your local library to do your own exploration — when you study or research something, you could say you're doing an exploration of it.
Vocabulary lists containing exploration
Western Europe - Introductory
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Western Europe - Middle School and High School
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The Renaissance and Early Modern European History - Introductory
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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.
See Examples For:
And last week the government introduced a bill to write its ban on new exploration licences into law.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026
The agency expects its lunar missions to support scientific discoveries, generate economic benefits, and encourage the development of technologies needed for more ambitious space exploration.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2026
Where BP allocates spending across its upstream portfolio and an update on its Brazilian exploration efforts will also be in focus, they say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Australian gas exploration company Santos and Papua New Guinea's national energy company Kumul Petroleum are among the other major partners.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
The wolves had no doubt about the date; they were using a calendar set by the pups, and today was the second day of exploration.
From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George
Like that film, the new one is an interesting if decidedly uneven work about pop-cultural obsession as an outlet for the more personal and tormented explorations of the protagonist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Users create maps, fictional diary entries, survival guides, found-footage videos and first-person explorations that collectively expand the world.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
He described the vows as "long, entertaining, personal, charming, emotional, irreverent and endearing explorations by each" about how they met and why they wanted to be married.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
Unlike recent explorations of pop superstardom in “The Moment,” “Smile 2” or “A Star is Born” — all fascinating depictions that focus on the varied perils of fame — Lowery aims for something more enigmatic.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026
Lord Asriel went back to his explorations, and you grew up at Jordan College.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
