explore
Americanverb (used with object)
-
explores,
present (3rd person singular)
-
explored,
past participle, past
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exploring
present participle
-
to traverse or range over (a region, area, etc.) for the purpose of discovery.
to explore the island.
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to look into closely; scrutinize; examine.
Let us explore the possibilities for improvement.
- Synonyms:
- survey, investigate, research, study, probe
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Surgery. to investigate into, especially mechanically, as with a probe.
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Obsolete. to search for; search out.
verb (used without object)
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explores,
present (3rd person singular)
-
explored,
past participle, past
-
exploring
present participle
verb
-
(tr) to examine or investigate, esp systematically
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to travel to or into (unfamiliar or unknown regions), esp for organized scientific purposes
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(tr) med to examine (an organ or part) for diagnostic purposes
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obsolete (tr) to search for or out
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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explorabilitynoun
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explorernoun
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reexploreverb
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explorableadjective
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unexplorableadjective
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unexploredadjective
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exploringlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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exploresimple
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exploressimple
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have exploredperfect
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has exploredperfect
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am exploringprogressive
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are exploringprogressive
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is exploringprogressive
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have been exploringperfect progressive
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has been exploringperfect progressive
Past
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exploredsimple
-
had exploredperfect
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was exploringprogressive
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were exploringprogressive
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had been exploringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of explore
First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin explōrāre “to search out, examine,” equivalent to ex- ex- 1 ( def. ) + plōrāre “to cry out,” probably originally with reference to hunting cries
Explanation
Explore is a verb that means "to travel in or through." You might explore an island, a European city, or the rooms of an unfamiliar house. The Latin root of explore is explorare, meaning "investigate or search out." When you explore a new place, you want to see interesting things and get to know its people. Whenever you delve into something, or investigate it, you explore it. You can even explore an interest, like when you explore African art, or explore an idea or tendency in order to understand it — you can explore your fear of snakes to try to get over it.
Vocabulary lists containing explore
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade 11)
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Words Middle Schoolers Should Use for Comparing and Contrasting Texts
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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:
In the Cell Stem Cell study, researchers used miBrains to explore another effect of APOE4: its role in the accumulation of abnormal proteins associated with neurodegenerative disease.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
"They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of enquiry," Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Instead, the tech giant will help expand power generation at the plant and explore the possibility of adding new reactors there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Sandro Gozi, a European lawmaker who chairs a parliamentary initiative on EU-UK relations, told AFP that Burnham's willingness to openly explore options offered a "historic opportunity" for the European Union.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
I get up to explore and find Mother in a room with a group of women, sharing stories.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
It explores online rhetoric and how it’s being absorbed, particularly by the younger generation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
In Angh, he explores this through the relationship between the father and son who "intimately love and care about each other very deeply", even as their worlds begin to pull apart.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Vulgar auteurism doesn’t necessarily suggest that a film is as “good” as others of its ilk, only that the film earnestly explores ideas as enduring as those in any formally rigid, awards-bait film.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
In her essay “I’m Gay Now,” Tomlinson explores her bisexuality and the transition from chasing male validation to feeling comfortable in herself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
This book explores a holistic, artistic, and integrated approach to understanding the developmental connections between music and children.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Data from the tags was often found to be underused with major violations raised and explored in just 46% of relevant cases, the report also found.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
Researchers have explored drugs and genetic approaches as possible anti-aging strategies, but questions about safety and practical clinical use remain.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026
The bank has recently explored finding partners to underwrite rejected applications for its co-branded credit cards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Her treatment during her bitter divorce from Charles and the Windsors’ flat-footed response to her death in a Paris car crash have been explored in numerous books, movies and a Netflix television series.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Stumbling on painful feet, they explored the cliff faces nearby.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
Because these materials can be formed into atomically thin layers, researchers are exploring whether they could enable memory technologies that differ from those built with conventional magnetic materials.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
The details of the incident are still unclear, but investigations are exploring whether Iran used potentially unwitting criminal proxies to orchestrate the plot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Denmark, Austria, Greece, Germany and the Netherlands have been exploring options to set such centres up, with Rwanda said to be the frontrunner to host them.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
Researchers are also exploring new ways of analysing fruit in intense detail.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
I think these two gentlemen just want to get away from our crowded fort and go exploring.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
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.
