noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The act of examining. countable, uncountable

   "In a child with infant dyschezia, physical examination and stool examination are normal."

2. 2
   the act of examining something closely (as for mistakes) wordnet
3. 3
   Particularly, an inspection by a medical professional to establish the extent and nature of any sickness or injury. countable, uncountable
4. 4
   the act of giving students or candidates a test (as by questions) to determine what they know or have learned wordnet
5. 5
   A formal test involving answering written or oral questions under a time constraint and usually without access to textbooks; typically, a large, written test administered to high school and college students covering course material studied in a semester. countable, uncountable

Show 4 more definitions

6. 6
   a detailed inspection of your conscience (as done daily by Jesuits) wordnet
7. 7
   Interrogation, particularly by a lawyer in court or during discovery. countable, uncountable
8. 8
   formal systematic questioning wordnet
9. 9
   a set of questions or exercises evaluating skill or knowledge wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

examexameninterrogationairinganalysisanatomic diagnosis

Example

More examples

"A cursory examination of his teeth indicated that he had gingivitis."

Etymology

From Middle English examinacioun, from Old French examinacion, from Latin exāminātiō. Morphologically examine + -ation.

Related phrases

11-plus examinationbar examinationblue book examinationclinical examinationcross examinationcross-examinationdirect examinationentrance examinationexamination of conscienceexamination paperexamination tableexamination-in-chief

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.