exploration
Americannoun
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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:
A childhood spent in the tunnels inspired his urban exploration and photography.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Amentum holds contracts in a range of sectors including space exploration, national security, robotics, and environmental remediation; and in April 2026 took over the contract for an ICE facility in Texas, Camp East Montana.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
"The Congolese have identified several priority exploration zones -- they are not starting from scratch. We are providing archives to confirm or refine their knowledge," Kervyn said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
The team also examined rock fragments collected from an oil exploration well near the site.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 30, 2026
Now that the South Pole had been reached, it seemed as though the age of heroic exploration was over.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
The key is to regularly engage in more than purely intellectual explorations of economic policy and investment strategy.
From Barron's ● May 25, 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
“Every musician should always try to find the roots to see where all that comes from,” says Moreno of her early musical explorations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
"We hope that this study will galvanize efforts to have yeast on board in future space explorations."
From Science Daily ● Feb. 8, 2026
I kept a journal on our explorations and made drawings to illustrate our findings.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
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.
