inquiry
Syllables: in·qui·ryUK/ɪnˈkwaɪəɹi//ɪnˈkwaɪ(ə)ɹi/
inquiry noun: the act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning.
Noun
inquiry (countable and uncountable, plural inquiries)
- The act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning.
- Yet in that February there were still some flutters of song, one of which was, Hey for the Lass wi' a Tocher, written in answer to Thomson's beseeching inquiry if he was never to hear from him again.1901, John Morley, editor, English Men of Letters, volume 30
- A search for truth, information, or knowledge; examination of facts or principles; research; investigation; inquest.
- Scientific inquiry
- Donald Trump has lashed out against his own supporters, calling them gullible “weaklings” for questioning the transparency of a secretive government inquiry into the late high-profile socialite and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.2025 July 17, Oliver Holmes, “Trump calls Epstein conspiracy a ‘hoax’ and turns on Maga ‘weaklings’”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 10 Aug 2025
inquiry meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
inquiry in Hindi
- the act of inquiring (by asking questions, etc)
- जाँच jā̃c
- research; investigation
- जाँच jā̃c, शोध śodh
inquiry in Tamil
- உசாவல், செய்தி ஆய்வு, தகவல் அறிதல், விசாரணை, விசாரணை உசாவுதல், வினவல்
inquiry in Marathi
- inquiry, investigation
- तपास tapās
inquiry in Urdu
- باز پرس, دریافت, جستجو, کھوج, پرسش, پوچھ گچھ
More languagesFewer languages
- inquiry in Bengali
- তলাশ tolaś
- inquiry in Telugu
- విచారణ
- inquiry in Malayalam
- അന്വേഷണം anvēṣaṇaṁ
- inquiry in Kannada
- ಜಿಜ್ಞಾಸೆ, ತಿಳಿಯಬೇಕೆಂಬ ಆಸೆ, ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸುವುದು, ತಿಳಿಯುವುದು
- inquiry in Punjabi
- ਪੁੱਛਗਿੱਛ
- inquiry in Gujarati
- પૂછપરછ
- inquiry in Sanskrit
- पृच्छा pṛcchā
- inquiry in Nepali
- सोधपुछ sodhpucha
- inquiry in Indonesian
- inkuiri
Examples of inquiry in a sentence
- The country's overcrowded and drug-ridden prisons will be reviewed by an independent board of inquiry.
- A successful learning experience which results from self-originated motivation guarantees continued pursuance of inquiry activities.
- Most inquiry has focussed on the researchee, while only limited attention has been given to the researcher.
Forms of inquiry
| plural | inquiries |
|---|---|
| alternative UK | enquiry |
Origin of inquiry
From Middle English enquery, from the Old French verb enquerre, from Latin inquīrō, composed of in- (“in, at, on; into”) + quaerō (“to seek, look for”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Italic *kʷaizeō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- (“to acquire”). Later respelled to conform to the original Latin spelling, as opposed to the Old French spelling.
Words formed from inquiry
Phrases with inquiry
Words that rhyme with inquiry
Questions about inquiry
- What does inquiry mean?
- Inquiry means the act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning.
- What is inquiry in Hindi?
- Inquiry in Hindi is जाँच (jā̃c), शोध (śodh). See Inquiry meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is inquiry?
- Inquiry is a noun.
- How do you pronounce inquiry?
- Inquiry is pronounced /ɪnˈkwaɪəɹi/ (UK).
- What is the plural of inquiry?
- The plural of inquiry is inquiries.
Words near inquiry in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: inquiry (page history and authors); inquiry (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); तपास (Marathi) (page history and authors); inquiry (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); inquiry (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); inquiry (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); inquiry (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); inquiry (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); सोधपुछ (Nepali) (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-inquiry.ogg.
Cite this entry: “inquiry.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/inquiry. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.