What does examine mean?
To examine is to look at something closely and systematically in order to understand it, judge its condition, or verify its truth. The verb covers a wide range of careful inspection: a doctor examines a patient, a customs officer examines luggage, a scientist examines data, and a lawyer examines a witness under oath. It can also mean testing someone's knowledge through formal questioning, a sense especially common in British educational contexts. The word connotes thoroughness and objectivity rather than idle curiosity — one examines with purpose. Derived from Latin roots meaning to weigh or balance, it has kept that figurative sense of measuring something against scrutiny. Its noun form, 'examination', spans everything from a medical check-up to a school test to a courtroom inquiry, making 'examine' one of the most versatile verbs of intellectual and practical investigation in English.
verbTo inspect or scrutinize something closely and carefully in order to assess its nature, condition, or accuracy; to test a person's knowledge or ability by asking questions.
- To inspect or study something closely in order to assess its condition, nature, or validity.
- To formally question someone, as in a legal deposition or medical consultation.
- To test a student's knowledge or proficiency by questioning.
"The doctor examined the patient's throat and prescribed a course of antibiotics."
"Scientists examined the fossil fragments for signs of ancient tool marks."
"Under cross-examination, the witness was examined by both counsel for over three hours."
The word 'examine' literally descends from the Latin 'examen' — the tongue of a balance scale — so every examination is, etymologically, an act of weighing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of examine
'Examine' entered English in the late Middle Ages, borrowed from Old French 'examiner', which itself came from Latin 'examinare', meaning to weigh or test. The Latin root 'examen' originally referred to the tongue or pointer of a balance scale, giving the word its enduring association with weighing evidence. Cognates such as 'examination' and 'examiner' followed the same path into English, all preserving that image of careful measurement.
Related word forms
How examine is actually used
'Examine' carries a neutral to formal register and implies deliberate, systematic attention rather than casual looking. In medical contexts it suggests a physical inspection; in academic contexts it means testing knowledge, a usage more established in British English than American English, where 'test' often replaces it.
Easily confused with examine
An examinee is the person being tested, while to examine is the act of inspecting or testing something.