Investigate definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary

If someone investigates an event, situation, or claim, they try to find out what happened. Gas officials are investigating the cause of an explosion which badly ... EnglishDictionary Thesaurus WordLists Grammar EnglishEasyLearningGrammar GrammarPatterns EnglishUsage TeachingResources VideoGuides Conjugations Sentences Quiz Englishgrammar Englishcollocations Englishconfusables Englishidioms Englishusage Thematicwordlists English French German Italian Spanish Portuguese Hindi Chinese Korean Japanese Definitionof 'investigate'    WordFrequency Share× Credits× investigate (ɪnvestɪgeɪt ) Wordforms:3rdpersonsingularpresent tenseinvestigates ,presentparticipleinvestigating ,pasttense,pastparticipleinvestigated verb Ifsomeone,especiallyanofficial,investigatesanevent,situation,orclaim,theytrytofindoutwhathappenedorwhatisthetruth. Gasofficialsareinvestigatingthecauseofanexplosionwhichbadlydamagedahouse inHampshire.[VERBnoun] Thetwoofficerswerebeinginvestigatedbythedirectorofpublicprosecutions.[VERBnoun] Policearestillinvestigatinghowtheaccidenthappened.[VERBwh] [AlsoVERB]Synonyms:examine,study,research,consider MoreSynonymsofinvestigate investigation(ɪnvestɪgeɪʃən )Wordforms:pluralinvestigations variablenounHeorderedaninvestigationintotheaffair.[+into] Hehasbeennotifiedbymagistratesthatheisunderinvestigationforcorruption. Synonyms:examination,study,inquiry,hearing MoreSynonymsofinvestigate COBUILDAdvancedEnglishDictionary.Copyright©HarperCollinsPublishers Video:pronunciationof investigate Youmayalsolike EnglishQuizConfusables Synonymsof'investigate' LanguageLover'sBlog FrenchTranslationof'investigate' Translateyourtext PronunciationPlaylists Wordoftheday:'Kahlo' HindiTranslationof'investigate' NEWfromCollins! EnglishGrammar CollinsApps WordFrequency investigateinBritishEnglish (ɪnˈvɛstɪˌɡeɪt ) verbtoinquireinto(asituationorproblem,espacrimeordeath)thoroughly;examinesystematically,espinordertodiscoverthetruth CollinsEnglishDictionary.Copyright©HarperCollinsPublishers Derivedformsinvestigable(inˈvestigable)adjective investigative(inˈvestigative)orinvestigatory(inˈvestigatory)adjective WordoriginC16:fromLatininvestīgāretosearchafter,fromin-2+vestīgiumtrack;seevestige WordFrequency investigateinAmericanEnglish (ɪnˈvɛstəˌgeɪt ) verbtransitiveWordforms:inˈvestiˌgatedorinˈvestiˌgating1.  tosearchintosoastolearnthefacts;inquireintosystematically verbintransitive2.  tomakeaninvestigation Webster’sNewWorldCollegeDictionary,4thEdition.Copyright©2010by HoughtonMifflinHarcourt.Allrightsreserved. Derivedformsinvestigable(inˈvestigable)(ɪnˈvɛstəgəbəl ) adjective Wordorigin