explore
Syllables: ex·ploreUK/ɪkˈsplɔː//ɪkˈsploɹ/
explore verb: to seek for something or after someone.
Verb
explore (third-person singular simple present explores, present participle exploring, simple past and past participle explored)
- To seek for something or after someone.
- To examine or investigate something systematically.
- The committee has been exploring alternative solutions to the problem at hand.
- Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir...2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193
- Synonyms:
- delve into, research
- To travel somewhere in search of discovery.
- It was around that time that the expedition began exploring the Arctic Circle.
- To examine diagnostically.
- To (seek) experience first hand.
- It is normal for a boy of this age to be exploring his sexuality.
- To be engaged exploring in any of the above senses.
- He was too busy exploring to notice his son needed his guidance.
- To wander without any particular aim or purpose.
- The boys explored all around till cold and hunger drove them back to the campfire one by one.
- They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups.1909 September 9, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], “A Court Ball”, in The Squire’s Daughter, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 9
- To seek sexual variety, to sow one's wild oats.
Noun
explore (plural explores)
- An exploration; a tour of a place to see what it is like.
- Daylight was fading quickly, but I was still keen to have a little explore of the town and beach.2008, John Watters, Bonza Voyage
explore meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
explore in Hindi
- to examine or investigate something systematically
- अन्वेषण करना anveṣaṇ karnā
explore in Tamil
- ஆராய், தேடு, விவரம் அறி, முழுமையாய் தேடு, நுண்ணாய்வு செய், துருவி ஆராய்
explore in Urdu
- to explore
- ڈھونڈنا ḍhūnḍnā
explore in Bengali
- অন্বেষণ করা, বিশ্লেষণ করা, অনুসন্ধান করা, গবেষণা করা, পরীক্ষা করা
More languagesFewer languages
- explore in Malayalam
- അന്വേഷണാർത്ഥം സഞ്ചരിക്കുക, വിവരശേഖരണത്തിനായി സഞ്ചരിക്കുക, സമഗ്രപഠനം നടത്തുക
- explore in Punjabi
- ਭਾਲ਼ਨਾ bhāḷnā, ਖੋਜਣਾ khojṇā, کڈھنا kaḍḍhṇā
- explore in Arabic
- اِسْتَكْشَفَ istakšafa
- explore in Malay
- teroka
- explore in Indonesian
- eksplorasi
- explore in Persian
- کاوش کردن kâvoš kardan, اکتشاف کردن ektešâf kardan
- explore in Thai
- สำรวจ sǎm-rùuat
- explore in Vietnamese
- thám hiểm, khám phá
Examples of explore in a sentence
- The exploring party went through the high gap in the mountains.
- The Nutty Professor franchise explores the light comedic potential of a mad scientist.
- Dr Strangelove explores the darker comedic potential of a mad scientist.
Synonyms of explore
- delve into
- research
Forms of explore
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | explores |
| present participle | exploring |
| past participle | explored |
| past | explored |
| Noun | |
| plural | explores |
Origin of explore
From Middle French explorer, from Latin explōrāre (“to investigate, search out”), itself said to be originally a hunters' term meaning "to set up a loud cry", from ex- (“out”) + plōrāre (“to cry”), but the second element is also explained as "to make to flow" (from pluere (“to flow”)). Displaced native Old English rāsian.
Words formed from explore
Words that rhyme with explore
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about explore
- What does explore mean?
- Explore means to seek for something or after someone.
- What is explore in Hindi?
- Explore in Hindi is अन्वेषण करना (anveṣaṇ karnā). See Explore meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is explore?
- Explore can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce explore?
- Explore is pronounced /ɪkˈsplɔː/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of explore?
- The past tense of explore is explored.
Words near explore in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: explore (page history and authors); explore (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ڈھونڈنا (Urdu) (page history and authors); explore (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); explore (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); کڈھنا (Punjabi) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-explore.ogg.
Cite this entry: “explore.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/explore. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.