experiment

American  

[ik-sper-uh-muhnt, ek-sper-uh-ment] / ɪkˈspɛr ə mənt, ɛkˈspɛr əˌmɛnt /

noun

1. a test, trial, or tentative procedure; an act or operation for the purpose of discovering something unknown or of testing a principle, supposition, etc..

   a chemical experiment; a teaching experiment; an experiment in living.

2. the conducting of such operations; experimentation.

   a product that is the result of long experiment.

   Synonyms:

   investigation, research

3. Obsolete. experience.

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verb (used without object)

1. to try or test, especially in order to discover or prove something.

   to experiment with a new procedure.

experiment British  

noun

1. a test or investigation, esp one planned to provide evidence for or against a hypothesis: a scientific experiment

2. the act of conducting such an investigation or test; experimentation; research

3. an attempt at something new or different; an effort to be original

   a poetic experiment

4. an obsolete word for experience

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verb

1. (intr) to make an experiment or experiments

experiment Scientific  

/ ĭk-spĕr′ə-mənt /

1. A test or procedure carried out under controlled conditions to determine the validity of a hypothesis or make a discovery.

2. See Note at hypothesis

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Related Words

See trial.

Other Word Forms

• experimentator noun
• experimenter noun
• experimentor noun
• preexperiment noun
• proexperiment adjective
• reexperiment verb (used without object)
• unexperimented adjective

Etymology

Origin of experiment

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English: “proof,” from Latin experīmentum “test, trial,” from experī(rī) “to test, try” ( experience ) + -mentum -ment

Example Sentences

But David Walmsley, Pandora’s chief digital and technology officer, is less willing to rush to experiment when it comes to critical functions such as human resources.

From The Wall Street Journal

I had volunteered to stand there for 10 minutes; breathing in dirty air as part of an experiment to understand how air pollution is affecting our bodies and damaging our health.

From BBC

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1996 allows activities to assure the safety and reliability of nuclear weapons, including experiments involving fissile material, as long as they don’t result in a nuclear-explosive yield.

From The Wall Street Journal

The schemes had been a way of "widening motorways on the cheap", King said, but that they were a "failed experiment" which were "not really working on any level".

From BBC

By selectively removing each group in a series of detailed experiments, the researchers uncovered clear differences in how these cells affect tumor growth.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• analysis
• attempt
• enterprise
• examination
• exercise
• experimentation
• measure
• observation
• operation
• practice
• probe
• procedure
• research
• search
• study
• trial
• undertaking
• venture