quiz
Americannoun
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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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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
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.
In the quiz below, listen to each audio prompt and type in your best guess for how each word is spelled.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
When that show moves to the earlier time slot, it will be replaced by another Allen program, “Funny You Should Ask,” a comic quiz show hosted by Jon Kelley.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
Champions League quiz: Can you name every finalist?
From BBC • May 14, 2026
Leonard Ross, who won $100,000 on a TV quiz show largely on the strength of his knowledge of stock-market trivia, got the honor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
She even tried to get on various radio and television quiz shows herself, hoping to bring home some money for being a successful contestant.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
