investigation
Americannoun
-
investigations
plural
-
the act or process of investigating or the condition of being investigated.
- Synonyms:
- exploration, scrutiny
-
a searching inquiry for ascertaining facts; detailed or careful examination.
- Synonyms:
- exploration, scrutiny
noun
Usage
What does investigation mean? An investigation is a thorough search for facts, especially those that are hidden or need to be sorted out in a complex situation. The goal of an investigation is usually to determine how or why something happened. Investigations are usually formal and official. The word is commonly associated with police investigations of criminal activity, but it is used in many other contexts to refer to the process of investigating—systematically finding and examining evidence. Example: After a six-month investigation, this news organization uncovered widespread corruption.
Synonym Usage
Investigation, examination, inquiry, research express the idea of an active effort to find out something. An investigation is a systematic, minute, and thorough attempt to learn the facts about something complex or hidden; it is often formal and official: an investigation of a bank failure. An examination is an orderly attempt to obtain information about or to make a test of something, often something presented for observation: a physical examination. An inquiry is an investigation made by asking questions rather than by inspection, or by study of available evidence: an inquiry into a proposed bond issue. Research is careful and sustained investigation.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of investigation
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English investigacio(u)n from Latin investīgātiōn- (stem of investīgātiō ). See investigate, -ion
Explanation
If something has gone missing, conduct an investigation to find it. To do this, seek out details associated with its disappearance, asking questions and gathering evidence in order to find out what happened to it. If you watch a lot of detective shows, it won’t surprise you to learn that the noun investigation traces back to the Latin words in-, meaning “into,” and vestigium, meaning “footprint, track.” An investigation may not always involve people looking for footprints at a crime scene, but that methodical gathering of details and other evidence associated with a crime or wrongdoing is at the heart of any investigation.
Vocabulary lists containing investigation
Florida EOC Biology 1
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Edge: Academic Vocabulary
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Miranda v. Arizona (1966): Syllabus
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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:
"The police investigation is proceeding at full speed," police added in their statement on Saturday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
The two suspects fled the scene and a major investigation has been launched, McKenzie added.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
No criminal charges have been filed and federal authorities have declined to provide specifics on the investigation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
But a 2015 Government Accountability Office investigation noted impediments to their use: uncertainty about which government functions were “inherently federal” and therefore outside tribal authority, a cumbersome application process, and cost.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
A letter to Le Figaro had even specifically called for the investigation to focus on the workers who had put the Mona Lisa behind glass.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Subsequent investigations, which involved countries in Europe and elsewhere, led to the arrest of the suspect in Romania, who is being investigated by German prosecutors for allegedly preparing attacks and suspected espionage.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Initial investigations indicate the blaze broke out on the second floor and the cause was still being investigated, according to the Graubünden cantonal police.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Authorities in New York and Los Angeles County are conducting separate investigations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Walter, who owns a majority stake in the Dodgers, is the subject of multiple federal investigations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
“So, please, Signor Getz," Mr. Hartlieb was still as big as a house and nearly as white as the snowflakes drifting past outside, “could you tell us about your investigations?"
From "The Thief Lord" by Cornelia Funke
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.
