Investigate Meaning
/ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo inquire into or study in order to ascertain facts or information.
verbTo examine, look into, or scrutinize in order to discover something hidden or secret.
Sentence Examples
The farmer that lived nearby came to investigate.
You should investigate the fact from a medical viewpoint.
The FBI has been called in to investigate.
CEFR Practice Quiz
When a mysterious event occurs, experts arrive to ____ the cause by collecting evidence.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The police have been ordered to ____ the suspicious fire that destroyed the old warehouse last night.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"We investigated the presence of CNM in ornithophagous ticks from migrating birds."
— 2015 July 25, “Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis in Ticks from Migrating Birds in Sweden”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:
"The current study investigates autoantibodies against steroid synthesis enzymes in dogs with spontaneous hypoadrenocorticism."
— 2015 December 1, “Autoantibodies against Cytochrome P450 Side-Chain Cleavage Enzyme in Dogs ( Canis lupus familiaris ) Affected with Hypoadrenocorticism (Addison’s Disease)”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:
"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."
— 2018, Clarence Green, James Lambert, “Position vectors, homologous chromosomes and gamma rays: Promoting disciplinary literacy through Secondary Phrase Lists”, in English for Specific Purposes, →DOI, page 2:
""Why don't you investigate?" he demanded. And investigate I did."
— 1903, Jack London, The Shadow and the Flash:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
When a mysterious event occurs, experts arrive to ____ the cause by collecting evidence.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The police have been ordered to ____ the suspicious fire that destroyed the old warehouse last night.