investigate
Americanverb (used with object)
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investigates,
present (3rd person singular)
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investigated,
past participle, past
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investigating
present participle
-
to examine, study, or inquire into systematically; search or examine into the particulars of; examine in detail.
-
to search out and examine the particulars of in an attempt to learn the facts about something hidden, unique, or complex, especially in an attempt to find a motive, cause, or culprit.
The police are investigating the murder.
verb (used without object)
-
investigates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
investigated,
past participle, past
-
investigating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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investigatornoun
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preinvestigatornoun
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preinvestigateverb
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reinvestigateverb
-
investigableadjective
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investigativeadjective
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investigatoryadjective
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quasi-investigatedadjective
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uninvestigatedadjective
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uninvestigatingadjective
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uninvestigativeadjective
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uninvestigatoryadjective
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well-investigatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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investigatesimple
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investigatessimple
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have investigatedperfect
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has investigatedperfect
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am investigatingprogressive
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are investigatingprogressive
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is investigatingprogressive
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have been investigatingperfect progressive
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has been investigatingperfect progressive
Past
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investigatedsimple
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had investigatedperfect
-
was investigatingprogressive
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were investigatingprogressive
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had been investigatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of investigate
First recorded in 1500–10; from Latin investīgātus, past participle of investīgāre “to follow a trail, search out”; see in- 2, vestige, -ate 1
Explanation
To investigate is to look into something systematically. If you don't understand how tornadoes work, for example, investigate the forces of wind and find out. Investigate still acts a lot like the word it comes from, investigationem meaning "a searching into," which came from the Latin for "to track a footprint." It's exactly what you do when you investigate. You can investigate in the name of science, which is to look into something systematically, like when you research how tornadoes work. If you investigate a person, you find out everything you can — and you might need to hire a private eye for help.
Vocabulary lists containing investigate
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List 8
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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:
To investigate how defects in this gene might cause disc disease, researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Bristol studied zebrafish bred without a functioning copy of it.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
Experts explain how health officials investigate foodborne illnesses amid a second outbreak of cyclosporiasis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The state-run Medicaid Fraud Control Units received generous federal matching funds to investigate and prosecute fraud.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Ofsted said increased funding will help them identify and investigate unregistered providers and that new powers granted through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act will allow them to issue fines.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
"But that wasn't all. While she was trying to get out of her skin, my dog, Grief, came through the door to investigate."
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
This change didn’t affect how the CDC detects and investigates outbreaks; for that it relies on a separate reporting system that collects case and genetic sequencing information from labs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Mark Daly investigates the truth behind the beer company’s marketing and financial hype.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Associate Professor Nic Rawlence, Director of the Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory, is a co author of the new study, which investigates the fossil and its evolutionary relationships.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
Houston’s police department, which was not present when Salgado Araujo was shot, is not currently investigating, nor is the Department of Public Safety, which regularly investigates police shootings in the state.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
We all pretend to not be paying him any mind: I brush back Layla’s edges, Kayla investigates a sunflower seed, Marisol reads her Suze Orman book, and Janae pretends to be on the phone.
From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi
They investigated examples from across evolutionary history in which arthropod sperm joined into organized groups or structures that may help them reach and fertilize an egg.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
And if support ever crosses the line into illegal conduct, it should be aggressively investigated, prosecuted and punished.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Bush had her liabilities—Joe Biden’s Justice Department investigated her over campaign spending—but still boasted support from Bernie Sanders and other progressives.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
Other journalists who will be honored alongside Assi include Hungary's Szabolcs Panyi, who investigated former prime minister Viktor Orban, and Colombia's Estefany Rodriguez, who was detained by US immigration officers while working in March.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
Mesmer’s treatments were introduced to the United States; even the great Benjamin Franklin had investigated the phenomenon.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Pasadena Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team is investigating the circumstances surrounding the collision.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The CDC on Wednesday said public-health officials in several states were investigating an outbreak of salmonella infections tied to jalapeno peppers.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
Evans said he was not sure who ran the page and was investigating.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Wang said that investigating a wider range of organisms may inspire new approaches to some of medicine's most challenging problems.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
Mr. Roberts finally convinced the Morpho people to let the Hardys keep investigating to find out who’d really stolen the Spork.
From "A Monster of a Mystery (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #5)" by Franklin W. Dixon
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.
