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:
Both Khawaja and Warner have criticised the investigation, which Greenberg has said he will not reopen.
From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2026
The investigation then expanded to older butterfly specimens collected across tropical Central and South America.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2026
Megaspeed came under investigation by the Commerce Department in 2024 for potentially aiding the smuggling of chips into China.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026
Nvidia’s board launched an independent investigation into national-security concerns raised by the reports.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2026
He was incredulous to learn that the attorney general had investigated Household and then been prevented, by a state judge, from releasing the results of his investigation.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Some thought Nvidia shareholders should vote on Huang’s future while others advocated for allowing enough time for proper investigations to conclude.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026
They also examined how fossil research has developed over decades and centuries, measuring how frequently investigations in different regions have produced new scientific information.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2026
Despite “struggling mightily,” Rasgon downgraded the stock from outperform to market-perform, citing potential investigations into Huang and Nvidia.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2026
The head teacher at the school, Ta'aliim Primary School and Quran Memorisation Centre, has been arrested to assist with investigations.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026
The angels launched new investigations, new policies and programs meant to fix the blind spots they’d created by claiming that the monsters were gone.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
