exploration
noun OPAL W
/ˌekspləˈreɪʃn/
/ˌekspləˈreɪʃn/
[countable, uncountable]- the act of travelling through a place in order to find out about it or look for something in it
- Budgets for space exploration have been cut back.
- oil exploration (= searching for oil in the ground)
- Lewis and Clark's exploration of the vast uncharted area of the north-west
Extra Examples- the exploration of space
- Exploration activity slowed during the 1970s.
- Extensive exploration was carried out using the latest drilling technology.
- speculative exploration for oil
- Mineral exploration is continuing throughout the area.
- The ship is designed for deep space exploration.
- Interest developed in the scientific exploration of the sea.
- Much of a child's play is concerned with the exploration of his/her environment.
- This was the time of Humboldt's explorations in South America.
- Cook charted the coast of New Zealand on his first voyage of exploration.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- energy
- gas
- mineral
- …
- carry out
- begin
- continue
- …
- take place
- activity
- programme/program
- company
- …
- exploration for
- an examination of something in order to find out about it
- These findings merit further exploration.
- the book’s explorations of the human mind
Extra Examples- My ideas needed more careful exploration.
- creative exploration of music as a medium in education
- her personal exploration of spirituality
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- brief
- extensive
- deep
- …
- need
- require
- begin
- …
Word Originmid 16th cent. (denoting an investigation): from French, or from Latin exploratio(n-), from the verb explorare ‘search out’, from ex- ‘out’ + plorare ‘utter a cry’. The current sense dates from the early 19th cent.