What Is The Meaning Of Examine? | Uses And Examples

Learners often stop and ask, “What Is The Meaning Of Examine?” when they meet this verb in textbooks, research articles, or test instructions. The word shows up in everyday talk, in formal writing, and in technical settings, so a clear picture of its meaning gives you stronger reading and writing skills. This article breaks the word down into simple senses, gives real-world uses, and shows how it links to related forms such as examination and examiner.

At its core, examine means to look at something with care and attention. That “something” can be a physical object, a person, a set of ideas, or a document. The same verb also covers checking health, questioning a witness, or testing a student. Once you see how these uses connect, the verb becomes far easier to notice and use correctly in your own sentences.

What Is The Meaning Of Examine In Everyday English?

When people use examine in daily speech, they usually mean “look at closely” or “check carefully.” If a customer examines a shirt in a shop, they are checking the fabric, the size, and the stitching before buying. If a manager examines a report, they are reading it with care to see whether the numbers and claims make sense.

In many dictionaries, including Merriam-Webster’s entry for examine, the first sense is “to inspect closely.” That core idea of close inspection lies behind most everyday uses. Whenever a speaker wants to show that someone is not just looking but checking or studying something in detail, examine is a useful choice.

You can also use the verb with ideas and information. A teacher might ask a class to examine an argument, meaning they should read it, think about its reasons, and see whether those reasons hold together. In this mental sense, the verb covers careful thinking as well as physical looking.

Context	Short Meaning	Example Sentence
Shopping	Look closely before choosing	The buyer examined the laptop for scratches and loose keys.
School	Check work in detail	The teacher examined each essay before giving a grade.
Home	Inspect an object or area	After the storm, they examined the roof for leaks.
Travel	Check documents	The officer examined the passport at the border gate.
Science	Study something as data	The team examined the results of the survey.
Reading	Look closely at ideas	The group examined the writer’s main claim in class.
Workplace	Review performance or plans	The company examined its schedule before changing staff hours.

The table shows one main thread: examine always involves care and attention. The object can change, from a roof to a research result, but the action remains a focused look. When someone asks, “What Is The Meaning Of Examine?” in this everyday sense, the simplest answer is “to look at something with care so you can judge it.”

Core Sense Of Examine As A Verb

To understand the core sense, notice what happens after the act of examination. Often, the person makes a decision, forms a judgment, or discovers a problem. A doctor examines a patient, then decides on treatment. An auditor examines accounts, then reports on errors. A student examines evidence, then reaches a conclusion in an essay. The verb links the careful look to some later decision.

Many learners confuse examine with simple looking. A quick glance at a menu does not count as examination. Once you read every item, compare prices, and check details like ingredients, you move into the territory of examine. Time, attention, and purpose all matter here.

Because of that link to judgment, examine often appears next to words such as carefully, closely, or thoroughly. These adverbs stress that the action goes beyond surface viewing. In careful writing, this verb tells the reader that a person is taking time to check facts, logic, or physical details before acting.

Examine In Study And Research

In academic settings, examine connects strongly to research and critical reading. Instructions such as “examine the data” or “examine the theory” tell students to study material with care, test ideas against evidence, and point out strengths and weaknesses. The verb here suggests an active, questioning attitude, not passive reading.

The Cambridge Dictionary describes this sense as checking or studying something carefully to learn new information or find possible problems. That fits common research tasks: a student examines a graph to see trends, or a researcher examines sources to see how writers in a field handle a topic. In both cases, the verb covers close study with a clear purpose.

Academic writing often turns the action into a statement of purpose. A thesis might say, “This paper examines language learning strategies in first-year students.” Here the writer signals that the paper will look at data, compare patterns, and draw conclusions. When a reader meets this verb in an abstract or introduction, they can expect a detailed, careful look at the subject.

Examine In Medical, Legal, And Work Contexts

The same verb plays a special role in medical language. When a doctor examines a patient, they check the body for signs of illness, measure vital signs, and ask questions about symptoms. The idea of close observation is still present, but the goal is to understand health and decide on the next step in care. Patients might also say, “I was examined in the clinic yesterday,” showing that an official check took place.

In law, examine usually refers to formal questioning. Lawyers examine a witness in court, asking detailed questions to bring out facts. Cross-examine refers to questioning by the other side. Here the focus is less on physical inspection and more on verbal testing of a person’s statements. The word still keeps the sense of close, careful checking, just with spoken answers instead of physical objects.

In the workplace, managers and inspectors examine systems, reports, and processes. A safety officer examines equipment, a quality manager examines finished products, and a supervisor examines schedules to see whether they still fit current needs. Every case uses the verb to signal a serious look that can lead to change.

Grammatical Patterns With Examine

Grammatically, examine is a regular verb. The base form is examine, the third-person singular form is examines, the past form is examined, and the continuous form is examining. These forms appear across tenses in both spoken and written English. Once you learn the pattern, you can apply it in many sentence types.

Most often, the verb takes a direct object. You examine something: a book, a patient, a report, a theory. Writers also use passive forms, such as “The samples were examined in the lab,” when they want to focus on the thing checked rather than the person who did the checking. This passive pattern appears often in scientific and technical writing.

Some patterns add prepositions. You can examine something for faults, meaning you are looking to see whether the faults exist. You can examine someone on a topic in an oral exam, meaning you question that person about the topic. These small preposition changes give extra detail about purpose and method.

Common Phrases That Use Examine

Over time, several fixed phrases with examine have become standard. Teachers talk about examining students, courts talk about examining witnesses, and doctors talk about examining patients. These phrases help listeners understand what kind of checking is happening in each field without long explanations.

The noun forms sit close by. An examination can be a medical check, a test in school, or a careful study of a topic. An examiner is the person who sets or marks a test, or the person who carries out a formal check. Once you know the verb, these related words are much easier to understand and remember.

Phrase With Examine	Meaning	Typical Context
Examine A Patient	Check a person’s body and health	Hospitals, clinics, medical reports
Examine The Evidence	Look closely at facts and documents	Law, research, news reports
Examine The Data	Study numbers or results carefully	Science, statistics, business analysis
Examine A Witness	Question someone in a formal setting	Courtrooms, legal writing
Examine The Options	Look at choices before deciding	Business, personal decisions
Examine For Faults	Check something to find mistakes or damage	Quality control, repair work
Examine Under A Microscope	Look at something in great detail	Laboratory work, technical articles

When you read or hear these phrases, you can now link them back to the central idea of careful checking. If someone still asks, “What Is The Meaning Of Examine?” in these settings, you can answer that the verb tells the reader or listener to expect close attention and a clear purpose.

Using Examine Confidently In Your Own Writing

For many learners, the last step is active use. Start by choosing examine when you need to show careful checking rather than quick looking. In a report, you might write, “This study examines reading habits among first-year students,” instead of “This study looks at reading habits.” The verb adds weight and signals that your work goes into detail.

Next, match the verb to the right object. Use examine with things that can be checked, tested, or questioned in a clear way: documents, results, people, processes, and ideas. If a simple glance is enough, another verb such as look or see may sound more natural. With practice, your ear will start to notice where examine feels precise and where it feels heavy.

Finally, read good models. Dictionaries, academic articles, and clear news writing all show examine in action. Each time you meet the phrase “researchers examined” or “the court examined,” pause for a second and ask yourself what exactly was checked and why. Step by step, you will turn the question “What Is The Meaning Of Examine?” into confident, accurate use in your own reading and writing.