probe

1. 1.

   an inquiry into unfamiliar or questionable activities

   “there was a congressional probe into the scandal”

   Synonymsinvestigation

   Broaderinquiry

   Narrowerfishing expedition
2. 2.

   a flexible slender surgical instrument with a blunt end that is used to explore wounds or body cavities

   Broadersurgical instrument
3. 3.

   an exploratory action or expedition

   Broaderexploration
4. 4.

   an investigation conducted using a flexible surgical instrument to explore an injury or a body cavity

   Broaderresearch

1. 1.

   question or examine thoroughly and closely

   Synonymsexamine

   Broaderinvestigate

   Narrowerinvestigatere-examinehear
2. 2.

   examine physically with or as if with a probe

   “probe an anthill”

   Synonymsdig intopoke into

   Broaderpenetrate

   Narrowergutter

Other forms of probe

plural

probes·

past tense

probed·

present participle

probing·

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 probe

What does probe mean?

probe means "an inquiry into unfamiliar or questionable activities". That is the primary sense; the word has 6 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in probe?

probe has 1 syllable: probe. In IPA it is /ˈpɹoʊb/.

What is another word for probe?

Close synonyms include investigation, examine, dig into, poke into. 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 probe a common word?

probe 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.