examine

1. 1.

   consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning

   “analyze a sonnet by Shakespeare”

   “analyze the evidence in a criminal trial”

   “analyze your real motives”

   Synonymsanalyzeanalysestudycanvass

   Narroweranatomizediagnosesurveycomparecheckassayreviewauditscreentrace
2. 2.

   observe, check out, and look over carefully or inspect

   “The customs agent examined the baggage”

   “I must see your passport before you can enter the country”

   Synonymssee

   Narrowersearchx-raycandleautopsyauscultatesurveyscanperusesize upinspect
3. 3.

   question or examine thoroughly and closely

   Synonymsprobe

   Broaderinvestigate

   Narrowerinvestigatere-examinehear
4. 4.

   question closely

   Broaderquestion

   Narrowerquizcross examinecatechizegrill
5. 5.

   put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to

   “This approach has been tried with good results”

   “Test this recipe”

   Synonymstestprovetrytry outessay

   Broaderevaluate

   Narrowercontrolfloatfield-test

Other forms of examine

past tense

examined·

present participle

examining·

third person

examines·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about examine

What does examine mean?

examine means "consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning". That is the primary sense; the word has 5 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in examine?

examine has 3 syllables: ex-am-ine. The stress falls on "am". In IPA it is /ɪɡˈzæmɪn/.

What is another word for examine?

Close synonyms include analyze, analyse, study, canvass, see. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is examine a common word?

examine is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.