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:
Revisit some of the show’s best jingles and parodies, appreciate Alec Baldwin’s singular performance as Jack Donaghy, and test your memory with this quiz.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
Prove your skills by playing today’s quiz, with questions about King Henry VIII’s wives, U.S. vice presidents, the French Revolution, and more.
From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2026
Snarky fisking — responding to an article line-by-line — gave way to the quiz boom, which was consumed by the personal essay before the long decade of short-form video.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
Jimmy Mulville, the co-founder of Hat Trick Productions, which makes the satirical news quiz Have I Got News For You, told the same newspaper he could understand the corporation's predicament.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Please send in this quiz for a full refund for any chickens or chicken supplies you may have ordered; your lessons are at an end.
From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones
Keep scrolling to beat all three of BBC Sport's daily quizzes, including our brand new Brainteaser question.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
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
The company, once popular for its online quizzes and news, said in recent filing it missed a deadline for a $5 million debt repayment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
Unexpectedly, the quizzes proved wildly popular, though not in the spirit the sponsors might have hoped.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Any players lined up to talk around the Elland Road trip will be similarly quizzed.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Some of the White House aides have had to learn about AI as they go along and have quizzed those in the industry about how certain things work, people familiar with the matter said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
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
It was like being back at Jordan, being quizzed on something she’d been half-taught, “Sort of,” she said.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
“He was a very sharp plebe, a very intelligent young man,” said retired Navy officer Gregory Glaros, the company commander often quizzing Cooper at the academy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 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
He began a lifelong love of quizzing when playing board game Trivial Pursuit in the 1980s, and has since gone on to face down Anne Robinson in The Weakest Link and take on the Chasers.
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2025
In the family room, a few feet away, Mrs. Hameed is quizzing my mom on the citizenship booklet.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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