explorer

[ ik-splawr-er, -splohr- ]
See synonyms for explorer on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person or thing that explores.

  2. a person who investigates unknown regions: the great explorers of the Renaissance.

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

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

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

Origin of explorer

1
First recorded in 1675–85; explore + -er1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use explorer in a sentence

  • They are rarely found in situ, having been destroyed or carried off by successive generations of explorers or plunderers.

    The Catacombs of Rome | William Henry Withrow
  • The explorers soon discovered that the only entrance into the estufa was by a trapdoor and a ladder.

    Overland | John William De Forest
  • But in that case the loss would not be a serious one to the explorers, nor would the thieves find any arms or powder.

  • The mistake which Columbus and the early explorers made in thinking America was India has caused a good deal of confusion.

    Stories That Words Tell Us | Elizabeth O'Neill
  • Smith Sound has been the channel by which most recent Arctic explorers have pushed north.

British Dictionary definitions for Explorer (1 of 2)

Explorer1

/ (ɪkˈsplɔːrə) /


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

British Dictionary definitions for Explorer (2 of 2)

Explorer2

/ (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

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