examination

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French examinacion, from Latin exāminātiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪɡˌzæmɪˈneɪʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən
• Hyphenation: ex‧am‧i‧na‧tion

Noun

examination (countable and uncountable, plural examinations)

1. The act of examining.
   • 2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:

     [The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic marine] debris sported surface pits around two microns across. Such pits are about the size of a bacterial cell. Closer examination showed that some of these pits did, indeed, contain bacteria, […].

2. Particularly, an inspection by a medical professional to establish the extent and nature of any sickness or injury.
3. A formal test involving answering written or oral questions under a time constraint and usually without access to textbooks.

Anagrams

• exanimation