probe
verb (used with object)
to search into or examine thoroughly; question closely.
had been probing
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past perfect progressiveof probe.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Fannie Mae watchdogs were removed from their jobs after they had been probing whether Pulte had improperly obtained mortgage records of James and other Democrats, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
Joe Sullivan was found guilty of obstructing justice for keeping the breach from the Federal Trade Commission, which had been probing Uber’s privacy protections at the time, and of actively hiding a felony.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 5, 2022
Spain had been probing that left flank and it provided the opener in the 17th minute as Oyarzabal’s cross from the left was volleyed into the bottom right corner by Torres.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 6, 2021
By this time, officials had been probing the vulnerability of automatic controls for a decade, but Aurora was the first tangible test of whether a physical object could be destroyed in a remote cyberattack.
From Slate ● Feb. 9, 2021
The officer who had been probing the hole further reported nothing more there, and, well satisfied, they returned to the car.
From Left Tackle Thayer by Ralph Henry Barbour
