research
Americannoun
-
research
plural
verb (used without object)
-
researches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
researched,
past participle, past
-
researching
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
researches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
researched,
past participle, past
-
researching
present participle
noun
verb
Synonym Usage
See investigation.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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researchernoun
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researchistnoun
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underresearchverb (used with object)
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proresearchadjective
-
researchableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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researchsimple
-
researchessimple
-
have researchedperfect
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has researchedperfect
-
am researchingprogressive
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are researchingprogressive
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is researchingprogressive
-
have been researchingperfect progressive
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has been researchingperfect progressive
Past
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researchedsimple
-
had researchedperfect
-
was researchingprogressive
-
were researchingprogressive
-
had been researchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of research
First recorded in 1570–80; (verb) from Middle French recercher “to seek,” Old French, equivalent to re- re- + cercher search; (noun) from Middle French recerche
Explanation
In their spare time, teenagers LOVE doing extra research, by investigating the facts of a certain subject and studying and recording what they learn. And if you believe that, you need to do more research on the habits of teenagers. Research comes from the Old French word recercher, meaning "seek out," or "search closely." When you do research, you are searching for knowledge and facts. Although you write plenty of research papers in college, on anything from the Industrial Revolution to the meaning behind a fur-lined teacup, the term is often used when talking about science, because scientists use step-by-step research to prove what is true, or not true, in their line of work.
Vocabulary lists containing research
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Journalism
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Academic Vocabulary: Core Tier 2 Words, List 9
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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:
Before her death Lomas raised £925,000 for the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation, external - a charity committed to funding research into curing spinal cord injury.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Michael Baker, a research analyst at Davidson, wrote in a note on Tuesday that each also metric had increased nicely on a two-year basis.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Additionally, a July directive gives priority to individual scientists over universities for $200 billion in annual federal research.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
The research also revealed that the pigments Reynolds used contained lead as well as vermilion, carbon black and one or more iron-earth pigments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
The other was a fictional tale of danger and exploration that she had found in Lord Fredrick’s library while doing research into wilderness survival techniques.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Lucy Qin, a postdoc at Georgetown University who researches privacy, pushed back against this framing: “Shorter-term fixes can band-aid the immediate problem but do not address a long-term pattern,” she said.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
Mia village emerged in 1966 after the first blind fortune-teller settled there, according to the Seongbuk Cultural Centre, which researches the district's history.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Chinese authorities have charged a China-born American seismologist who researches underground nuclear tests with espionage after secretly detaining him in late 2024, according to the Massachusetts man’s supporters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Dennis Culhane, a University of Pennsylvania professor who researches homelessness and served as an L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Papin became increasingly discontented in Hesse, where the landgrave failed to give his researches the support he felt they warranted, and so he determined to return to England.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Pal researched multi-GPU parallelization, or ways of stitching many chips together, at Nvidia, and later co-founded Auradine, a bitcoin miner, where he designed what he describes as the lowest-voltage chip ever shipped.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Shields had researched and found information online suggesting the nearby southern entrance was less crowded.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
As part of their studies, they researched other single-handed pianists - such as Nicholas McCarthy and Leon Fleisher - who had made successful careers.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Meng Jiaxuan, 20, dolled up in her traditional outfit at Shichahai, said she had even researched poses for her photoshoot on Xiaohongshu.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
I have researched faerie poisons in dusty, hand-scribed books in Madoc’s library.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Plus, I didn’t waste hours researching and booking a la carte accommodations myself, where I could easily lose track of the trip’s total price tag.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Before running for governor, he founded Golden Together, a policy institute focused on researching issues like housing costs, homelessness and the state’s business climate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
"Everybody's lonely at some point, but some people are not OK admitting that," says Professor Melody Ding, an epidemiologist researching social connection and loneliness at the University of Sydney.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
I spend years researching and writing books that cobble together the nuggets of information I’ve gathered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
After I signed someone up, Kevin began researching the person, getting his questions ready.
From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
