probe

American  

[prohb] / proʊb /

verb (used with object)

• probes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• probed,
  past participle,  past
• probing
  present participle

1. to search into or examine thoroughly; question closely.

   to probe one's conscience.

   Synonyms:

   scrutinize, investigate

2. to examine or explore with or as if with an instrument.

   The dentist probed the offending tooth.

   She keeps probing her ear with a cotton swab.

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verb (used without object)

• probes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• probed,
  past participle,  past
• probing
  present participle

1. to examine or explore a matter thoroughly (sometimes followed byinto ).

   The checklist consists of a series of questions carefully designed to probe into all aspects of your business.

   The cross-examiner probed a little more before dismissing the witness.

2. to explore or search with or as if with an instrument.

   You may have to probe with the rod until you find the mouth of the pipe.

noun

• probes
  plural

1. an act or instance of probing.

2. an investigation, especially by a legislative committee, of suspected illegal activity.

3. a tool or instrument designed for examining something, especially a slender surgical instrument for exploring the depth or direction of a wound, sinus, or the like.

4. Aerospace. space probe.

5. a projecting, pipelike device on a receiving aircraft used to make connection with and receive fuel from a tanker aircraft during refueling in flight.

6. a device, attached by cord to an oven, that can be inserted into roasts or other food so that the oven shuts off when the desired internal temperature of the food is reached.

7. Biology. any identifiable substance that is used to detect, isolate, or identify another substance, as a labeled strand of DNA that hybridizes with its complementary RNA or a monoclonal antibody that combines with a specific protein.

probe British  

/ prəʊb /

verb

1. (tr) to search into or question closely

2. to examine (something) with or as if with a probe

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noun

1. something that probes, examines, or tests

2. surgery a slender and usually flexible instrument for exploring a wound, sinus, etc

3. a thorough inquiry, such as one by a newspaper into corrupt practices

4. electronics a lead connecting to or containing a measuring or monitoring circuit used for testing

5. electronics a conductor inserted into a waveguide or cavity resonator to provide coupling to an external circuit

6. any of various devices that provide a coupling link, esp a flexible tube extended from an aircraft to link it with another so that it can refuel

7. See space probe

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prober
  noun
• reprobe
  verb
• probeable
  adjective
• unprobed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• probes
  plural

Participles

• probing
  present
• probed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• probe
  simple
• probes
  simple
• have probed
  perfect
• has probed
  perfect
• am probing
  progressive
• are probing
  progressive
• is probing
  progressive
• have been probing
  perfect progressive
• has been probing
  perfect progressive

Past

• probed
  simple
• had probed
  perfect
• was probing
  progressive
• were probing
  progressive
• had been probing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will probe
  simple
• will have probed
  perfect
• will be probing
  progressive
• will have been probing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of probe

First recorded in 1555–65; (noun) from Medieval Latin proba “examination,” Late Latin: “test,” derivative of probāre “to try, test, prove” ( see proof ( def. ), prove ( def. )); (verb) partly derivative of the noun, partly from Latin probāre

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Explanation

If you probe something, you investigate it thoroughly. If you go into business with someone, you might probe her finances to make sure that she has a good track record. Although it is usually used as a verb — "the police probed the man’s disappearance" — it can also be used as a noun to describe an information-gathering device. In 1979 the United States launched the world's first space probe into outer space. It was a spacecraft rigged with cameras, which were used to photograph Jupiter and Saturn.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

probe probes probed probing

The Daily Star also carries the story on the "cops probe" into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor time in Balmoral, although elsewhere it leads with tributes to Sir Patrick Stewart, who has died aged 86.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

Colón Angueira seeks out such imagery to probe conversation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

After leaving office he was swept up in a 2014 anti-corruption probe, convicted of corruption and money laundering and in 2018 was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2026

Last week, Cook declined to attend a hearing in the White House's probe into mortgage fraud allegations, which she denies.

From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026

When the first federal agents from the Bureau of Investigation began to probe the case, in 1923, they also concluded that Savage, Smitherman, and Hattie Whitehorn were responsible for the murder.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Dozens of money-laundering probes were underway in 2025, and convictions rose from three in 2021 to 28 in 2025, according to Monaco's authorities.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

Ukraine has ended a pause on Russian refinery attacks and Binance probes what may be the biggest-ever crypto heist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

To identify a possible mirror organism, the researchers suggest using specialized fluorescent probes that attach to particular structures inside cells.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

In federal corruption probes, agents often begin by focusing on lower-level targets with a goal of working their way up to more prominent figures.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

“We are studying,” he said as he quickly helped me attach the simulation probes to my arms and legs.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

So while he gave senior international caps to 62 players during that span, he hardly probed the depths of the American talent pool.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Phillips was additionally probed by the House Ethics Committee for allegedly hiring a girlfriend to intern in Collins’ office.

From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026

"This was the first time that shock-compressed diamond was probed with X-ray diffraction all the way up to melting," said Millot.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

It is not known whether these issues were probed further.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

He opened his beak toward my face, and his small gray tongue probed the air.

From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis

Yet Wedgewood also lied to media outlets that did ask probing questions about its methods, so that explanation is hard to take at face value.

From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2026

His probing has ensured Australia have not missed spinner Nathan Lyon, who he replaced, or Josh Hazlewood, who remained at the team hotel throughout the day because of illness.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

As Hanns-Christoph Nägerl says: "The discovery of fractional Fermi seas shows how far we can push quantum simulation: not only reproducing known models, but creating and probing states that go beyond established paradigms."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026

“NAZA” eschews probing for guilty feelings, though, because the point is to unearth a process of obliteration: how it works and what it looks like as implemented by the willing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

My colleagues at the hospital would stand in my doorway and casually drop the question, probing for some bit of early news.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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Related Words

• check out
• delve into
• dig
• examine
• inquire
• interrogate
• penetrate
• poke
• scrutinize
• sift
• verify

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