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:
General Mills has turned to a different source for help understanding GLP-1 users: an AI-powered “digital persona” built from consumer interviews, social insights and sales data that employees quiz through a computer screen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
See if you can get more answers right on the news quiz than Slate’s senior director of podcast operations.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
In that vein, the standard way to figure out your risk tolerance is to take a quiz of some sort.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
These rules level the playing field in ways most quiz shows don’t, in that the selection process isn’t entirely dependent on a person’s general knowledge.
From Salon ● May 4, 2022
And for the record, that quiz was NOT easy.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
And the chatbot will offer quizzes to help students deepen their understanding of a particular subject.
From The Wall Street Journal ● 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
BBC sports editor Dan Roan quizzes Fifa president Gianni Infantino on the eve of the World Cup, after he told journalists to "chill" and "relax" over visa and ticketing issues.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Once an internet darling valued at $1.5 billion, the 20-year-old site appealed to consumers with its lists, splashy news articles and quizzes, including “Which ‘Schitt’s Creek’ character are you?”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
And if Kate and Constance were drawing no such unpleasant attention themselves, it was only because they were having a terrible time with the quizzes, which was even more discouraging.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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
Last year, we quizzed readers on the finals’ questions, and we are bringing it back by popular demand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 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
Foreign Affairs select committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry has invited Sir Olly to give evidence on Tuesday next week, the second time he will have been quizzed about his involvement in the Mandelson scandal.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
After viewing the show, the kids were quizzed on what they had seen.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
The Reading Cafe features pupils from Holy Cross High School in Hamilton discussing books and quizzing authors, musicians and other cultural figures about literature.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
At the Pentagon, Feinberg is known for frequently hosting meetings that last for hours, quizzing company bosses who visit and often staying at work until midnight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
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
Tiffany Anderson, Topeka’s first Black female 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 16, 2024
We spend a couple of hours quizzing each other on military terms.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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.
