exploren.
/ᵻkˈsplɔː/, /ɛkˈsplɔː/, U.S. /ᵻkˈsplɔr/, /ɛkˈsplɔr/ colloquial.
An act of exploring an unfamiliar place; an exploration, an excursion.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > [noun] > exploring a place
exploring1577
exploration1616
grand tour1793
explore1873
1873 T. Watson Homely Pearls at Random Strung vi. 266 If you make any discovery give a shout. I'll do the same. So now for another explore.
1886 M. Sidney Golden West 179 Don't you want to go out for an ‘explore’?
1928 A. A. Milne House at Pooh Corner vii. 113 What about coming for an explore and getting Pooh and Piglet to come too?
1949 J. Wanklyn Bobtail Shawn xiv. 120 At week-ends we were able to go off on long ‘explores’ by ourselves.
2002 Leader (Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba) 6 May 16/2 Take your family on an explore of our very own province.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
explorev.
/ᵻkˈsplɔː/, /ɛkˈsplɔː/, U.S. /ᵻkˈsplɔr/, /ɛkˈsplɔr/ 1.
a. transitive. To establish facts concerning, find out about (the condition or nature of something); to ascertain, find out, discover (a fact, a cause for something, etc.). Also with indirect question as object.Now somewhat rare except as overlapping with sense 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > research > find out by investigation [verb (transitive)]
seekc900
seeOE
searcha1382
takea1382
inquire1390
undergrope?a1412
explore1531
to pry out1548
to scan out1548
to hunt out1576
sound1596
exquire1607
pervestigate1610
pump1611
trace1642
probe1649
to hunt up1741
to pick a person's brains (also brain)1770
verify1801
to get a load of1929
sus1966
1531 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece Chron. Scotl. (1938) I. ii. vi. 68 The samyn tyme come certane oratouris fra King Ptholomye of Egipt, to exploir the maneris and situacioun of euery pepill and region.
c1540 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece Hyst. & Cron. Scotl. xiv. i. f. cciiii/1 He began to explore ye richtis of yir .ii. partiis.
1585 Queen Elizabeth I in W. B. Scoones Four Cent. Eng. Lett. (1880) 29 Stratagems..by..sondry meanes to be explored.
1630 P. Massinger Renegado v. iii. sig. L1 A cunning spie sent to explore The Cities strength, or weakenesse.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. viii. 31 We..may accordingly explore their verities.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 72 Let the Learned Gard'ner..Explore the Nature of each sev'ral Tree. View more context for this quotation
1715 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad I. i. 84 Let some Prophet..Explore the Cause of great Apollo's Rage.
1772 Monthly Rev. June 584 He explores the hidden sources of legislation.
1823 C. Lamb Mackery End in Elia 177 Who or what sort of persons inherited Mackery End..we..determined some day to explore.
1856 C. Merivale Hist. Romans under Empire V. xlii. 43 The imperator resolved to explore, disguised..the actual temper of the soldiers.
1932 H. V. Morton In Search of Wales vi. 91 The natives imbrued their altars with the blood of their prisoners, and in the entrails of men explored the will of the gods.
1993 N.Y. Times 14 Sept. c 7/6 His laboratory and others have also explored precisely how the new class of antimigraine drugs, sumatriptan and its imitators, manage to work their apparent magic on patients.
b. transitive. To inquire into or discuss (a subject) in detail; to assess, evaluate (an option, a possibility, etc.); to investigate.Originally and sometimes still as an extended use of sense 2a (see, for example, quots. 1774, 1932). With to explore every avenue cf. avenue n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > investigate, examine [verb (transitive)]
underseekc897
speerc900
lookeOE
askOE
seeOE
teem witnessc1200
seeka1300
fand13..
inquirec1300
undergoc1315
visit1338
pursuea1382
searcha1382
examinec1384
assay1387
ensearchc1400
vesteyea1425
to have in waitc1440
perpend1447
to bring witnessc1475
vey1512
investigate?1520
recounta1530
to call into (also in) question1534
finger1546
rip1549
sight1556
vestigatea1561
to look into ——1561
require1563
descry?1567
sound1579
question1590
resolve1593
surview1601
undersearch1609
sift1611
disquire1621
indagate1623
inspect1623
pierce1640
shrive1647
in-looka1649
probe1649
incern1656
quaeritate1657
inquisite1674
reconnoitre1740
explore1774
to bring to book1786
look-see1867
scrutate1882
to shake down1915
sleuth1939
screen1942
1774 M. Scott Female Advocate 35 With thee, the paths of science to explore; With thee, the open book of Nature scan.
1848 R. C. Winthrop Oration 4th July 27 Such characters could be found by my exploring every avenue of information respecting their merits and pretensions.
1868 F. M. Müller Chips III. v. 118 He had explored the modern languages of Europe.
1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 2nd Ser. 235 The Scotch School..entered the mind to explore it.
1906 Athenæum 21 July 71/3 The Latinless enthusiast who is curious to explore Propertius.
1932 Week-End Rev. 9 Apr. 456/2 She explores..the world of political assassination.
1966 New Statesman 4 Mar. 305/2 The work done by the ‘psychedelic’ specialists..has explored the possibilities of expanding awareness by the use of hallucinogenic drugs.
1976 Times 24 Jan. 3/4 It suggests they [sc. women] might explore their sexuality and have more fun than they have in the past.
2011 Church Times 30 Sept. 24/2 He explores a number of topical issues in the subsequent chapters.
2.
a. transitive. To travel to or around (an uncharted or unknown area or region) for the purposes of discovery and gathering information; (later also) to go to or around (an unfamiliar place) in order to learn about it or get to know it.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > search for or seek [verb (transitive)] > search (a place) > explore or search through
fand?c1225
visit1338
discoverc1440
explorate?1549
explore1577
survey1592
exquire1607
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > inspection, survey > inspect, survey [verb (transitive)] > a place, etc.
perambulate1450
perlustrate1535
view1539
explorate?1549
explore1577
perlustrea1600
reacknowledge1622
canvass1652
reconnoitre1712
recce1943
1577 D. Settle True Rep. Voy. Frobisher sig. A.iiiiv They haue explored Africa, euen through the burning Zone, both the West and South coast.
a1616 F. Beaumont Poems (1653) sig. F8 Not caring to observe the wind Or the new sea to explore.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 18 Another Typhis shall new Seas explore.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man iii. 105 Who bid the Stork, Columbus-like, explore Heav'ns not his own?
1781 W. Cowper Retirem. 151 The busy race..explore Each creek.
1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1783 II. 443 [Paraphrasing Johnson:] He..recommended us to explore Wapping.
1845 M. Pattison in Christian Remembrancer Jan. 72 It is the old historical lands of Europe that the lover of history longs to explore.
1867 M. E. Herbert Cradle Lands vii. 194 We spent a couple of hours..exploring the ruins.
1924 R. Macaulay Orphan Island xiii. 137 A deep coral pool..which he was exploring for live creatures.
1970 Times 6 Jan. 16/7 Explore the beautiful Western Isles of Scotland.
1987 D. Gersi Explorer iv. 101 Covering the walls were large color photographs he had taken of the jungles he had explored and the tribes he had met.
2007 Waterbirds 30 215/1 The shores of the lagoons and beaches were explored by car, where roads or other access existed.
b. intransitive. To go to or around an unknown or unfamiliar place in order to learn about it; to engage in exploration. Also: to go on an excursion or expedition to a place.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > [verb (intransitive)] > explore
explore1816
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > make a search [verb (intransitive)] > go on an exploration
discover1568
explore1816
1816 J. Austen Emma II. xiv. 263 While they are with us, we shall explore a great deal. View more context for this quotation
1816 J. Austen Emma II. xiv. 264 We explored to King's-Weston twice last summer. View more context for this quotation
1853 F. Galton Narr. Explorer Trop. S. Afr. Pref. p. v A traveller who..chose to start from Little Fish Bay,..and explore to the eastwards and southwards, would be likely to make a very successful journey.
1924 R. Macaulay Orphan Island ii. 29 Wouldn't the Royal Geographical Society finance the expedition? It ought to, as it's to explore to an undiscovered island.
1973 N. Tinbergen Animal in its World II. iv. xvi. 167 We do less exploring as we grow up, simply because the urge to explore wanes.
1996 Up Here (Yellowknife, N.W. Territories) Jan. 19/2 You can..even ‘heli-hike’, taking a chopper deep into the wilderness before you explore on foot.
2013 Analog Sci. Fiction & Fact May 16/1 They want to explore, and they want to pioneer.
3. † a. transitive. To search for; to find by searching. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > finding or discovery > find or discover [verb (transitive)] > by searching or tracking down
findOE
track1565
to start up1566
explore1592
to find forth1601
tracea1913
1592 S. Daniel Complaynt of Rosamond in Delia sig. L4 Fame doth explore what lyes most secrete hidden, Entring the closet of the Pallace dweller: Abroade reuealing what is most forbidden.
?1615 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses (new ed.) ii. 328 I now am bound..to explore My long-lack'd father.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 970 I come no Spie, With purpose to explore or to disturb The secrets of your Realm. View more context for this quotation
1712 A. Pope Messiah in Spectator No. 349 The good Shepherd..Explores the lost, the wand'ring Sheep directs.
1769 O. Goldsmith Rom. Hist. I. 255 The Alps, over which he was to explore a new passage into Italy.
1822 T. Taylor tr. Apuleius Metamorphosis 59 I will diligently accomplish what you wish, exploring for this purpose a fit opportunity.
1859 J. G. Cooper in Rep. Explor. & Surv. Route Railroad Mississippi to Pacific: Suppl. Vol. I ii. 21 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (35th Congr., 2nd Sess.: Senate Executive Doc. 46) XVIII I went with a party to explore a route through this valley to the sound.
b. intransitive. To conduct a search for something, in later use esp. minerals, oil, or other raw materials (cf. exploration n. 3).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > search for or seek [verb (transitive)]
seekc888
aseekc1000
i-secheOE
huntc1175
to seek afterc1175
beseechc1200
fand?c1225
ofseche?c1225
to seek forc1250
atseekc1275
furiec1290
forseeka1300
outseekc1300
upseekc1315
to look after ——c1330
wait1340
laita1350
searchc1350
pursuea1382
ensearchc1384
to feel and findc1384
inseekc1384
looka1398
fraist?a1400
umseeka1400
require?c1400
walec1400
to look up1468
prowla1475
to see for ——c1485
to look for ——a1492
to have in the wind1540
sue1548
vent?1575
seek1616
explore1618
dacker1634
research1650
to see out for1683
quest1752
to see after ——1776
1618 T. Gainsford Glory Eng. ii. xv. 244 I beleeue might be pull'd out of the center of the same, if such a passage did euer excite man to explore for secrets, marchandize, or wealth.
1656 S. Holland Don Zara Del Fogo v. 37 He arose with a resolve to explore for flesh, either Goat or Stag.
1859 Jrnl. Statist. Soc. London 22 176 Coarse Gold was found about six weeks since by some packers while exploring for a mule route around Lake Seton.
1872 R. B. Smyth Mining Statist. 27 A large expenditure of public money in exploring for coal.
1929 Oregon Hist. Q. 30 297 Geology students of the University of Oregon in the past summer explored for fossils in Crook, Grant, Wheeler and Lake counties.
1975 North Sea Background Notes (Brit. Petroleum Co.) 7 Production licences..give the licensee exclusive rights over a specific area to explore for and produce hydrocarbons.
2011 Economist 17 Dec. 44/2 Sirius Minerals is exploring for potash, a mineral used in fertilisers.
4.
a. transitive. To scrutinize, examine, survey. Also: to examine by touch (cf. sense 4b). Also intransitive.In later use sometimes influenced by sense 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > close examination, scrutiny > scrutinize [verb (transitive)]
through-seekOE
gropea1250
to search outa1382
ensearch1382
boltc1386
examinea1387
ransackc1390
ripea1400
search1409
overreach?a1425
considerc1425
perquirec1460
examec1480
peruse?1520
grounda1529
study1528
oversearch1532
perscrute1536
scrute1536
to go over ——1537
scan1548
examinate1560
rifle1566
to consider of1569
excuss1570
ripe1573
sift1573
sift1577
to pry into ——1581
dive1582
rub1591
explore1596
pervestigate1610
dissecta1631
profound1643
circumspect1667
scrutinize1671
perscrutatea1679
introspect1683
rummage1690
reconnoitre1740
scrutinate1742
to look through1744
scrutiny1755
parse1788
gun1819
cat-haul1840
vivisect1876
scour1882
microscope1888
tooth-comb1893
X-ray1896
comb1904
fine-tooth comb1949
1596 J. Davies Orchestra xcv. sig. C2v Whose quick eyes doe explore The iust dimension both of earth and heau'n.
1599 J. Davies Nosce Teipsum 95 Her selfe in instants doth all things explore, For each thing present.
1729 T. Cooke Tales 92 Some unexperienc'd Fool her Eyes explore.
1747 J. Wesley Primitive Physick p. ix They explored the several Kinds of..Vegetable Substances.
1795 W. Gifford Mæviad 324 Together we explored the stoic page Of the Ligurian, stern tho' beardless sage [sc. Persius].
1825 C. Lamb in London Mag. May 71 I digress into Soho, to explore a book-stall.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola I. ii. 40 He thrust his hand into a purse..and explored it again and again with a look of frustration.
1867 R. W. Emerson May-day & Other Pieces 170 He looketh seldom in their face, His eyes explore the ground.
1922 R. Keable Mother of all Living x. 14 I must explore the book-cases down-stairs, and especially the one dad always kept locked.
1950 R. H. Baker Astron. (ed. 5) viii. 478 Other stellar assemblages outside the galactic system are scattered through space as far as the largest telescopes can explore.
1980 W. Percy Second Coming i. vii. 256 He absently explored the beast, hide now hardened and chitinous as a locust.
2011 Independent 8 Apr. (Viewspaper section) 12/3 We've been encouraged by a thousand food writers..to explore the lunar surface of pain de campagne.
b. To undertake a physical examination of (a wound or a part of the body), originally esp. by touch or with a probe; to examine by means of a surgical or endoscopic procedure. Cf. exploration n. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > diagnosis or prognosis > examination > examine medically [verb (transitive)] > by touch
toucha1398
explore1689
manipulate1876
palpate1898
the world > physical sensation > touch and feeling > touching > touching with the hand > touch or feel with the hand [verb (transitive)] > examine by
gropec1000
handleOE
tastec1290
feela1400
grob1654
explore1689
grubblea1690
pouter1808
palpate1850
fingle1907
1689 E. Howard Caroloiades 31 The Prince, with Courteous grief, his Cure assay'd By best skill'd Surgeons who his wounds explore, But found, too far past aid, his Vital Power.
1767 B. Gooch Pract. Treat. Wounds I. 66 The finger is better than any instrument to explore some kinds of wounds.
1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 361 The learned finger never need explore Thy vig'rous pulse.
1833 J. Forbes et al. Cycl. Pract. Med. I. 4/1 The methods of exploring the abdomen may be reduced to three—inspection, manual examination (or palpation), and percussion.
1867 Med. Rec. 2 389/2 In exploring the abdomen by means of percussion Dr. Bennett directs that the pleximeter..should first be placed immediately below the xiphoid cartilage.
1902 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 28 June 1599/1 On attempting to explore the cystic duct, its orifice was found to be completely obliterated.
1991 Saudi Med. Jrnl. 12 271/1 Examples [of mid-nineteenth century technical developments] are..laryngoscopes and mirrors for exploring nasal passages by the Czech medical scientist in 1858.
2014 Lippincott Man. Nursing Pract. (ed. 10) xxxv. 1214/1 All wounds must be thoroughly explored for retained foreign objects before closure.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > trial or experiment > make experiment of or with [verb (transitive)]
afondc1300
assailc1300
found1340
assay1377
taste1382
experiment1524
experience1541
try1545
attempt1563
practise1632
explore1667
experimentate1670
to taste of1700
to try out1888
to try (something)(on) for size1979
fand-
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 632 Satan..toward the Gates of Hell Explores his solitary flight. View more context for this quotation
Derivatives
exˈplored adj. that has been explored (in various senses); often with modifying word indicating the frequency of exploration in the past.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > [adjective] > relating to exploration of a place > explored
explored1664
1664 J. Howell Προεδρια-Βασιλικη 96 For it is a most explored truth, That the Region of Spain distributed to divers Kingdoms, when it was devolvd to the hands of King Ferdinand and Isabella.
1820 C. Lamb in London Mag. Oct. 367/1 Some rotten archive, rummaged out of some seldom-explored press.
1909 A. A. Milne in Punch 19 May 348/1 A brief but authoritative life of the poet..led him finally to the study of one of the least explored of our transit systems.
1967 Sci. Amer. June 124/2 By joining equilateral triangles along their edges one obtains another well-explored family of shapes known as polyiamonds.
1997 A. Cambeira Quisqueya La Bella viii. 88 Spain very boldly claimed all the explored territories in the Caribbean.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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