probeverb [ I or T ]
uk/prəʊb/us/proʊb/to try to discover information that other people do not want you to know, by asking questions carefully and not directly:
The interviewer probed deep into her private life.
Detectives questioned him for hours, probing for any inconsistencies in his story.
The article probes (= tries to describe and explain) the mysteries of nationalism in modern Europe.
to examine something with a tool, especially in order to find something that is hidden:
They probed in/into the mud with a special drill.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Analysing and evaluating
- analyse
- analyser
- analyst
- analytical
- analyze
- critical
- go through sth
- have the measure of sb/sth idiom
- inspect
- inspection
- interpretive
- measure
- proof
- sell sb/yourself/sth short idiom
- set great, little, etc. store by sth idiom
- sift
- sit
- sit in judgment on/over sb idiom
- size sth/sb up
- survey
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Making holes in things
probenoun [ C ]
uk/prəʊb/us/proʊb/an attempt to discover information by asking a lot of questions:
an FBI probe into corruption
a Justice Department probe into the Democrats' fund raising
specialized medical a long, thin metal tool used by doctors to examine inside someone
specialized science a device that is put inside something to test or record information
See also
space probe
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Analysing and evaluating
- analyse
- analyser
- analyst
- analytical
- analyze
- critical
- go through sth
- have the measure of sb/sth idiom
- inspect
- inspection
- interpretive
- measure
- proof
- sell sb/yourself/sth short idiom
- set great, little, etc. store by sth idiom
- sift
- sit
- sit in judgment on/over sb idiom
- size sth/sb up
- survey
See more results »
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Medical & surgical equipment
Measuring, weighing, & counting devices