explorer

[ik-splawr-er]

noun

1. a person or thing that explores.

2. a person who investigates unknown regions.

   the great explorers of the Renaissance.

3. any instrument used in exploring or sounding a wound, a cavity in a tooth, or the like.

4. Also called Explorer Scout. (initial capital letter),  a person between the ages 14 and 20 who is an active participant in the exploring program sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America.

5. (initial capital letter),  one of a long series of U.S. scientific satellites: Explorer 1 (1958) was the first U.S. artificial satellite.

Explorer

¹

/ ɪkˈsplɔːrə /

noun

1. Brit equivalent: Venture Scout. a member of the senior branch of the Scouts

Explorer

²

/ ɪkˈsplɔːrə /

noun

1. any of the first series of US satellites. Explorer 1 , launched in 1958, confirmed the existence of intense radiation belts around the earth

Word History and Origins

Origin of explorer¹

First recorded in 1675–85; explore + -er ¹

Example Sentences

"They're built to ensnare sharks or fish and they're deadly effective, but sadly completely indiscriminate," says Dean Cropp who, as a cinematographer and ocean explorer, has been documenting these nets for years.

From BBC

"We're no different to most explorers in the the world. They always find another peak to climb."

From BBC

Cortés was an explorer who brought about the end of the Aztec empire and helped pave the way for the Spanish colonisation of the Americas.

From BBC

The book came from the family library of Hubert Priestley who was a famous botanist in the 1930s and brother to the Antarctic explorer and geologist, Sir Raymond Edward Priestley.

From BBC

"He loves glaciers and snow, and he loves explorers," she said, adding that as a climate journalist, he is attempting to visit glaciers that are rapidly shrinking due to climate change.

From BBC