FreeScrabbleDictionary

investigate

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
15
Words With Friends
18
Letters
11
Pronunciation
/ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪt/
See all 3 pronunciations
/ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪt/ · [ɪnˈvɛs.tɪ.ɡeɪ̯t] · [ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪ̯ʔ]

Definition of investigate

3 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

verb

  1. (transitive)To inquire into or study in order to ascertain facts or information.
    “to investigate the causes of natural phenomena”
    “He was asked to investigate a robbery.”
    “We investigated the presence of CNM in ornithophagous ticks from migrating birds.”
    “The current study investigates autoantibodies against steroid synthesis enzymes in dogs with spontaneous hypoadrenocorticism.”
    “ESP, using the tools of corpus linguistics, has advanced the methodologies for investigating discipline-specific language, yet there has been little cross-fertilization so far with disciplinary literacy in secondary education.”
See all 3 definitions

verb

  1. (transitive)To inquire into or study in order to ascertain facts or information.
    “to investigate the causes of natural phenomena”
    “He was asked to investigate a robbery.”
    “We investigated the presence of CNM in ornithophagous ticks from migrating birds.”
    “The current study investigates autoantibodies against steroid synthesis enzymes in dogs with spontaneous hypoadrenocorticism.”
    “ESP, using the tools of corpus linguistics, has advanced the methodologies for investigating discipline-specific language, yet there has been little cross-fertilization so far with disciplinary literacy in secondary education.”
  2. (transitive)To examine, look into, or scrutinize in order to discover something hidden or secret.
    “to investigate an unsolved murder”
  3. (intransitive)To conduct an inquiry or examination.
    “"Why don't you investigate?" he demanded. And investigate I did.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

Recorded since circa 1510, a back-formation from investigation on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix), from Latin investīgātiō (“a searching into”), from investīgātus, the perfect passive participle of investīgō, equivalent to in- + vestigate. Displaced native Old English undersēċan (literally “to search under or between”).

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9-letter words

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51 words

6-letter words

76 words

5-letter words

33 words

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