explore

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To examine or investigate something systematically.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ihksplawr

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ɪkspˈlɔɹ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

transitive
To examine or investigate something systematically.
transitive
To travel somewhere in search of discovery.
Examine minutely
transitive
To (seek) experience first hand.
intransitive
To be engaged exploring in any of the above senses.
intransitive
To wander without any particular aim or purpose.

noun

colloquial
An exploration; a tour of a place to see what it is like.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency: Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To examine or investigate something systematically.

Used this way, explore is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: No strong connotation
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

explore furtherexplore waysnow explore

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

explorernounInflected form
Someone who travels into little known regions (especially for some scientific purpose).

Word family

Words built from the same root.

explorationnounDerived noun
To travel for the purpose of discovery.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

internet explorernounCompound term
A commercial browser.
re-exploreverbCompound term
Explore anew.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “explore” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.