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
But did you know actor Julie Hesmondhalgh is the voiceover narrator for the quiz show?
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 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
I wanted to know what was going to be on the quiz the next day.
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
And the chatbot will offer quizzes to help students deepen their understanding of a particular subject.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 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
"We do events, monthly quizzes, and I want to hire venues so people can come in costume."
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
American history was getting easier, but only in that I was no longer failing the quizzes outright.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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
Early applicants were quizzed on their views on topics including capitalism and pronatalism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
Grohl was quizzed by the pupils about his favourite toothpaste, to which he answered "whitening", before the star told anecdotes including of the time he broke his leg falling off stage in 2015.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
But what would he say to someone if they quizzed him on his decision to move next to a golf course, where stray balls were always a possibility?
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Anytime old friends came to visit us at the White House, they were amused by the intensity with which both Barack and I quizzed them about their jobs, their kids, their hobbies, anything.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Ellison was there, too, quizzing attendees on their AI timelines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
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
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
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
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