quiz
Americannoun
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quizzes
plural
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an informal test or examination of a student or class.
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a questioning.
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a practical joke; a hoax.
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Chiefly British. an eccentric, often odd-looking person.
verb (used with object)
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quizzes,
present (3rd person singular)
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quizzed,
past participle, past
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quizzing
present participle
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to examine or test (a student or class) informally by questions.
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to question closely.
The police quizzed several suspects.
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Chiefly British. to make fun of; ridicule; mock; chaff.
noun
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an entertainment in which the general or specific knowledge of the players is tested by a series of questions, esp as a radio or television programme
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( as modifier )
a quiz programme
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any set of quick questions designed to test knowledge
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an investigation by close questioning; interrogation
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obsolete a practical joke; hoax
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obsolete a puzzling or eccentric individual
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obsolete a person who habitually looks quizzically at others, esp through a small monocle
verb
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to investigate by close questioning; interrogate
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informal to test or examine the knowledge of (a student or class)
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obsolete (tr) to look quizzically at, esp through a small monocle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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quizsimple
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quizzessimple
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have quizzedperfect
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has quizzedperfect
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am quizzingprogressive
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are quizzingprogressive
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is quizzingprogressive
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have been quizzingperfect progressive
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has been quizzingperfect progressive
Past
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quizzedsimple
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had quizzedperfect
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was quizzingprogressive
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were quizzingprogressive
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had been quizzingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of quiz
1775–85 in sense “odd person”; 1840–50 quiz for def. 1; origin uncertain
Explanation
A quiz is a short series of questions with a quick result. A magazine quiz might tell a reader if "he's into you," or a pop quiz in English class will let your teacher know how far you got (or didn't get) in last night's reading. As a verb, quiz means to ask a series of questions. A teacher might quiz his students on the material covered in lecture the day before. A mother might quiz her son as to his plans for after school. The questioning meaning of the noun and verb came into use in the mid-nineteenth century, possibly influence by words like inquisitive. Before that, quiz could refer to an odd or unconventional person, a meaning which eventually gave rise to quizzical, still in use today.
Vocabulary lists containing quiz
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:
More than 1,300 people applied for a rare opening at the quiz show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Applicants had to take the same online quiz that potential contestants do, plus compose more than a full show’s worth of categories and clues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Today’s bite-size trivia quiz might be worth a try!
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
Before dismissing Netflix’s trivia-based “Bullsh*t: The Game Show” as another passing fancy, remember that it is merely carrying on part of a larger quiz show tradition of lying.
From Salon ● May 4, 2022
I return Lena’s quiz and walk by his desk.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
The learning features include quizzes, homework reminders, study mode and learning visualizations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
But AI wasn’t allowed for quizzes or exams testing memorized subjects, said the 22-year-old, who majored in business computer information systems.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
Midterms and in-class quizzes, for which students can’t use AI, now hold more weight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
To support education and awareness, the researchers have released a curated deepfake dataset that includes interactive quizzes for training purposes.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 26, 2026
Hang in there today with the quizzes, though, and just power through.
From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
When quizzed as to whether the whole narrative surrounding the IPO momentum could be lost if cheaper Chinese competition starts to eat into the market share, Ahn is realistic: “That’s a possibility, yes.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
Dow quizzed the witness about a conversation she had with one woman about the accusations.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
During one, Wang quizzed a visiting U.S. private-equity investor about Donald Trump following his shock election win in 2016.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
Standing with Heidi on a beach in Hawaii, Pratt quizzed Jones about whether his remarks had been unfairly edited.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
The first day, I was quizzed on what I was supposed to have read over the summer.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
Osman said he had "a nice chat" with Princess Anne about writing and quizzing.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
He has been regularly in touch with aides and allies, quizzing them on who they think he should select as his next Fed chair.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025
But the idea of sitting down for a date and quizzing each other to see if you’re soulmates is like — what?!
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2025
Anderson, the superintendent, strode to the front of the room, quizzing the children on whether they wanted to be teachers, doctors or even the president of the United States someday.
From Seattle Times ● May 15, 2024
After I had been quizzing them for years about names of hundreds of trees and birds, how could I insult them by assuming they didn’t have names for different mushrooms?
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
