Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To observe or inquire into in detail; examine systematically.
- v. To make a detailed inquiry or systematic examination.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To search into or search out; inquire into; search or examine into the particulars of; examine in detail: as, to investigate the forces of nature; to investigate the causes of natural phenomena; to investigate the conduct of an agent.
- Synonyms To scrutinize, overhaul, sift, probe into, explore, study.
Wiktionary
- v. To inquire into or study in order to ascertain facts or information.
- v. To examine, look into, or scrutinize in order to discover something hidden or secret.
- v. To conduct an inquiry or examination.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To follow up step by step by patient inquiry or observation; to trace or track mentally; to search into; to inquire and examine into with care and accuracy; to find out by careful inquisition.
- v. To pursue a course of investigation and study; to make investigation.
WordNet 3.0
- v. investigate scientifically
- v. conduct an inquiry or investigation of
Etymologies
- Latin investīgāre, investīgāt- : in-, in; see in-2 + vestīgāre, to track (from vestīgium, footprint).
Examples
“His object was, to investigate the causes of this Grecian superiority; or, if _investigate_ is too pompous a word for so slight a discussion, more properly, he inquired for the cause as something that must naturally lie upon the surface.”
The Uncollected Writings of Thomas de Quincey—Vol. 1 With a Preface and Annotations by James Hogg
“Yes the Kean Commission did "investigate" 9/11, and the word investigate is used in the loosest definition of the word.”
“Â The next morning, she flies away to once again investigate her origins.”
Astro City: Beautie #1 | Major Spoilers - Comic Book Reviews and News
“(They know their references — one of the addresses they investigate is on Plissken Circle.)”
“The list of things that a capital defense attorney must, in all situations and no matter what he thinks will actually be useful, investigate is getting longer and longer.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Summary Reversal Watch in Jefferson v. Upton
“Possibly a better avenue to investigate is the effectiveness of drugs.”
“Something I am starting to investigate is the historical Wobblie movement.”
:brightly: Hi! Are you a Democrat in a Republican seat? | RedState
“Note that for some reason, despite having British forces accused of beating to death a captive foreign civilian — a war crime by any definition — the British, and world opinion, are quite content to let Britain investigate this on its own — no calls for a UN, NATO or ICC investigation.”
“Also, the fact that "we could investigate" is irrelevant because right now you don't know what the outcome of the investigation would be.”
“In theory, the only person with a chance of getting the Press Complaints Commission to investigate is Simon Hughes himself.”
EXCLUSIVE: Did His Credit Card Statement 'Do' for Simon Hughes?
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘investigate’.
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Academic Vocabulary
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abandon, abandonment, abnormally, abstract, abstraction, abstractly, abstracts, academia, academic, academically, academics, academies and 3092 more...
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