Inspect

//ɪnˈspɛkt// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To examine critically or carefully; especially, to search out problems or determine condition; to scrutinize.

    "Inspect the system for leaks."

  2. 2
    examine carefully for accuracy with the intent of verification wordnet
  3. 3
    To observe the status or nature of an object beyond what is found obvious upon its initial presentation; to 'view within' the object.

    "After speaking with the building owner, hearing that the building's steam pipes were over eighty years old, and noticing areas where the pipes had been patched with duct tape, we decided to thoroughly inspect the system for leaks."

  4. 4
    come to see in an official or professional capacity wordnet
  5. 5
    To view and examine officially.

    "The general inspected the troops and their barracks."

Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    look over carefully wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
lookanalyzeappraiseascertainauditaudit

Example

More examples

"You should inspect the car well before you buy it."

Etymology

From Latin inspectum, past participle of inspicere (“to look into”), from in (“in”) + specere (“to look at”), equivalent to in- + -spect.

Related phrases

inspect the plumbing

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