explore

[ik-splawr, -splohr]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR explore ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), ex·plored, ex·plor·ing.

to traverse or range over (a region, area, etc.) for the purpose of discovery: to explore the island.

to look into closely; scrutinize; examine: Let us explore the possibilities for improvement.

Surgery. to investigate into, especially mechanically, as with a probe.

Obsolete. to search for; search out.

verb (used without object), ex·plored, ex·plor·ing.

to engage in exploration.

Origin of explore

1575–85; < Latin explōrāre to search out, examine, equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + plōrāre to cry out, probably orig. with reference to hunting cries

Related formsex·plor·a·ble, adjectiveex·plor·a·bil·i·ty, nounex·plor·ing·ly, adverbre·ex·plore, verb, re·ex·plored, re·ex·plor·ing.un·ex·plor·a·ble, adjectiveun·ex·plored, adjective

Synonyms for explore

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR explore ON THESAURUS.COM

2. probe, study, research, investigate, survey.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for exploring

try, search, probe, scrutinize, research, examine, test, analyze, seek, prospect, traverse, inspect, travel, hunt, question, tour, sift, scout, burrow, reconnoitre

Examples from the Web for exploring

Contemporary Examples of exploring

And, thanks to a transparent hull, exploring the deep and spotting rare marine life is practically a cinch.
The Most Exciting New Hotels, Restaurants, and Submarines of 2014
Charlie Gilbert
December 29, 2014
And it might be easiest of all imagining him “exploring” a candidacy for a while and then deciding the hell with it.
Be the Smarter Bush Brother, Jeb: Don’t Run!
Michael Tomasky
December 17, 2014
New York City at the time, according to McBride, attracts men and women who are exploring and expressing their sexual difference.
Living Black & Gay in the ’50s
Alain Mabanckou
December 3, 2014
Exploring the pangs of this tumultuous relationship is what most attracted Kent to this project.
‘The Babadook’ Is the Best (and Most Sincere) Horror Movie of the Year
Samuel Fragoso
November 30, 2014
“This project is a wonderful vehicle for exploring and demonstrating how we go about finding out what is true,” he says.
How Amelia's Plane Was Found
Michael Daly
October 30, 2014

Historical Examples of exploring

This remained to be ascertained in exploring that river upwards.
Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia
Thomas Mitchell
With every stage of it Newbury was revealing himself; and exploring her.
The Coryston Family
Mrs. Humphry Ward
For exploring into its darkness I found that of course it did have walls like any common building.
The Harbor
Ernest Poole
"Hul-lo," he cried, exploring to see whether the bathroom chair was dry.
The Education of Eric Lane
Stephen McKenna
Plainly if exploring of those upper rooms was to be done it must be done at once.
Thankful's Inheritance
Joseph C. Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for exploring

explore

verb

(tr) to examine or investigate, esp systematically

to travel to or into (unfamiliar or unknown regions), esp for organized scientific purposes

(tr) med to examine (an organ or part) for diagnostic purposes

(tr) obsolete to search for or out

Derived Formsexplorer, noun

Word Origin for explore

C16: from Latin explōrāre, from ex- 1 + plōrāre to cry aloud; probably from the shouts of hunters sighting prey

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

Word Origin and History for exploring

explore

1580s, "to investigate, examine," a back-formation from exploration, or else from Middle French explorer (16c.), from Latin explorare "investigate, search out, examine, explore," said to be originally a hunters' term meaning "set up a loud cry," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + plorare "to cry."

But second element also explained as "to make to flow," from pluere "to flow." Meaning "to go to a country or place in quest of discoveries" is first attested 1610s. Related: Explored; exploring.

exploring in Medicine

explore

[ĭk-splôr′]

v.

To examine for diagnostic purposes.