investigation
Americannoun
-
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.
Related Words
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
- investigational adjective
- preinvestigation noun
- reinvestigation noun
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.
Morens is facing five counts related to allegedly destroying, altering or falsifying records in a federal investigation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
No charges have been filed against the clinic’s principals and the investigation remains ongoing.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2026
GD UK said it welcomed the conclusions of the Army safety investigation team and the decision by the MoD to resume acceptance and operation of Ajax vehicles under a "phased and carefully controlled approach."
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026
Not every National Highway Traffic Safety Administration safety investigation results in a recall.
From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026
Carl Friedrich Gauss, born in 1777, was a German prodigy, and he began his mathematical career with an investigation of imaginary numbers.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
