- the act of examining or state of being examined
- written exercises, oral questions, or practical tasks, set to test a candidate's knowledge and skill
- (as modifier): an examination paper
- physical inspection of a patient or parts of his or her body, in order to verify health or diagnose disease
- laboratory study of secretory or excretory products, tissue samples, etc, esp in order to diagnose disease
- the formal interrogation of a person on oath, esp of an accused or a witness
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ex•am•i•na•tion /ɪgˌzæməˈneɪʃən/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- the act or process of examining: [uncountable]picked up the object for closer examination.[countable]a complete physical examination.
- Education[countable] a test for knowledge of a subject.
ex•am•i•na•tion
(ig zam′ə nā′shən),USA pronunciation n.
ex•am′i•na′tion•al, adj.
- the act of examining;
inspection;
inquiry;
investigation. - the state of being examined.
- the act or process of testing pupils, candidates, etc., as by questions.
- the test itself;
the list of questions asked. - the answers, statements, etc., made by one examined.
- Lawformal interrogation.
- Latin exāminātiōn- (stem of exāminātiō). See examine, -ation
- Middle English examinacioun 1350–1400
- 1. observation. Examination, inspection, scrutiny refer to a looking at something. An examination usually means a careful noting of details:A thorough examination of the plumbing revealed a defective pipe.An inspection is a formal and official examination:an inspection of records, a military inspection.Scrutiny implies a critical and minutely detailed examination:The papers seemed to be in good order, but they would not stand close scrutiny.See also investigation.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
examination /ɪɡˌzæmɪˈneɪʃən/ n