investigate
verb OPAL W
/ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪt/
/ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪt/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they investigate | /ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪt/ /ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪt/ |
| he / she / it investigates | /ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪts/ /ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪts/ |
| past simple investigated | /ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪtɪd/ /ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪtɪd/ |
| past participle investigated | /ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪtɪd/ /ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form investigating | /ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪtɪŋ/ /ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪtɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to carefully examine the facts of a situation, an event, a crime, etc. to find out the truth about it or how it happened
- The FBI has been called in to investigate.
- the senior investigating officer
- (informal) ‘What was that noise?’ ‘I'll go and investigate.’
- investigate something Detectives are currently investigating possible links between the murders.
- to investigate a crime/a complaint/an incident
- The allegations have not yet been thoroughly investigated.
- The report calls for a commission to investigate the matter further.
- The case will be investigated in detail to determine whether the claims are true.
- investigate what, how, etc… Police are investigating what happened.
Collocations CrimeCrimeCommitting a crime- commit a crime/a murder/a violent assault/a brutal killing/an armed robbery/fraud
- be involved in terrorism/a suspected arson attack/people smuggling/human trafficking
- engage/participate in criminal activity/illegal practices/acts of mindless vandalism
- steal somebody’s wallet/purse/(British English) mobile phone/(North American English) cell phone
- rob a bank/a person/a tourist
- break into/ (British English) burgle/ (North American English) burglarize a house/a home/an apartment
- hijack a plane/ship/bus
- smuggle drugs/weapons/arms/immigrants
- launder drug money (through something)
- forge documents/certificates/passports
- take/accept/pay somebody/offer (somebody) a bribe
- run a phishing/an email/an internet scam
- combat/fight crime/terrorism/corruption/drug trafficking
- prevent/stop credit-card fraud/child abuse/software piracy
- deter/stop criminals/burglars/thieves/shoplifters/vandals
- reduce/tackle/crack down on knife/gun/violent/street crime; (especially British English) antisocial behaviour
- foil a bank raid/a terrorist plot
- help/support/protect the victims of crime
- report a crime/a theft/a rape/an attack/(especially British English) an incident to the police
- witness the crime/attack/murder/incident
- investigate a murder/(especially North American English) a homicide/a burglary/a robbery/the alleged incident
- conduct/launch/pursue an investigation (into…); (especially British English) a police/murder inquiry
- investigate/reopen a criminal/murder case
- examine/investigate/find fingerprints at the crime scene/the scene of crime
- collect/gather forensic evidence
- uncover new evidence/a fraud/a scam/a plot/a conspiracy/political corruption/a cache of weapons
- describe/identify a suspect/the culprit/the perpetrator/the assailant/the attacker
- question/interrogate a suspect/witness
- solve/crack the case
Extra ExamplesTopics Crime and punishmentb1- The company has pledged to investigate claims that its products are unsafe.
- The company said it will investigate any customer complaints.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- carefully
- closely
- in detail
- …
- ask somebody to
- be called in to
- decide to
- …
- for
- [transitive] to try to find out information about somebody’s character, activities, etc.
- investigate somebody for something This is not the first time he has been investigated by the police for fraud.
- investigate somebody over something She is being investigated over allegations of illegal business dealings.
- investigate somebody They were investigated on suspicion of drug smuggling.
- [transitive] to find out information and facts about a subject or problem by study or research
- investigate something The study investigates the effects of feeding a high energy diet to cows.
- investigate how, what, etc… Researchers are investigating how foreign speakers gain fluency.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- carefully
- closely
- in detail
- …
- ask somebody to
- be called in to
- decide to
- …
- for
Word Originearly 16th cent.: from Latin investigat- ‘traced out’, from the verb investigare, from in- ‘into’ + vestigare ‘track, trace out’.