From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_717_zexamineex‧am‧ine /ɪɡˈzæmɪn/ ●●● S3 W2 verb [transitive] 1 to look at something carefully and thoroughly because you want to find out more about it A team of divers was sent down to examine the wreck. Hegel’s philosophy will be examined in detail in Chapter 4.examine how/whether/what etc In the course, we will examine how and why Spain became a democracy in 1931.examine something for something The police will have to examine the weapon for fingerprints.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say have or take a look at something or someone rather than examine something or someone:I had a look at the car but I couldn’t see anything wrong with it.► see thesaurus at check2 
MHEXAMINEif a doctor examines you, they look at your body to check that you are healthy3 formalSEEXAM/TEST to ask someone questions to test their knowledge of a subject SYN testexamine somebody in/on something You will be examined on American history.4 lawSCT to officially ask someone questions in a court of law → cross-examineTHESAURUSexamine to look at something carefully and thoroughly because you want to find out more about itExperts who examined the painting believe it is genuine.Her new book examines the causes of social discontent.A team of divers was sent down to examine the wreckage.The police will examine the weapon for fingerprints.have a look at/take a look at especially spoken to quickly examine something to find out what is wrong with it or to find out more about it. Have a look at is less formal than examine, and is the usual phrase to use in everyday EnglishI’ll have a look at your car if you like.inspect to examine something carefully to make sure that it is correct, safe, or working properly, especially when it is your job to do thisThe building is regularly inspected by a fire-safety officer.Some insurance people have already been here to inspect the damage caused by the storm.Russian and American teams will have the right to inspect each other’s missile sites.analyze (also analyse British English) to examine something carefully, especially detailed information about something, so that you can understand itResearchers analyzed the results of the survey.We’re still analysing all the data.One of the problems in analyzing the situation is that we do not have all the information yet.study to spend a lot of time examining something very carefully, for example a problem or situationI won’t comment till I’ve had time to study the proposals.A team of scientists has been studying the effects of global warming on Antarctica.review to examine something such as a situation or process to see if any changes are necessaryThe bank will review its security procedures after last week’s attack.scrutinize (also scrutinise British English) to examine something very carefully to find out if there is anything wrong with itCongress is currently scrutinizing the deal. → See Verb table
MHEXAMINEif a doctor examines you, they look at your body to check that you are healthy3 formalSEEXAM/TEST to ask someone questions to test their knowledge of a subject SYN testexamine somebody in/on something You will be examined on American history.4 lawSCT to officially ask someone questions in a court of law → cross-examineTHESAURUSexamine to look at something carefully and thoroughly because you want to find out more about itExperts who examined the painting believe it is genuine.Her new book examines the causes of social discontent.A team of divers was sent down to examine the wreckage.The police will examine the weapon for fingerprints.have a look at/take a look at especially spoken to quickly examine something to find out what is wrong with it or to find out more about it. Have a look at is less formal than examine, and is the usual phrase to use in everyday EnglishI’ll have a look at your car if you like.inspect to examine something carefully to make sure that it is correct, safe, or working properly, especially when it is your job to do thisThe building is regularly inspected by a fire-safety officer.Some insurance people have already been here to inspect the damage caused by the storm.Russian and American teams will have the right to inspect each other’s missile sites.analyze (also analyse British English) to examine something carefully, especially detailed information about something, so that you can understand itResearchers analyzed the results of the survey.We’re still analysing all the data.One of the problems in analyzing the situation is that we do not have all the information yet.study to spend a lot of time examining something very carefully, for example a problem or situationI won’t comment till I’ve had time to study the proposals.A team of scientists has been studying the effects of global warming on Antarctica.review to examine something such as a situation or process to see if any changes are necessaryThe bank will review its security procedures after last week’s attack.scrutinize (also scrutinise British English) to examine something very carefully to find out if there is anything wrong with itCongress is currently scrutinizing the deal. → See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
examine• I'm going to the hospital tomorrow to have my knee examined again.• The body was thoroughly examined by physicians, who declared that no chemicals had been used to preserve it.• Other reasons for depopulation were also examined during this period.• The doctor examined her, but didn't find anything wrong.• He looked, he thought as he examined himself in the mirror, more than usually hideous.• To save time, students will be examined in groups of three.• Before buying an antique, examine it closely to avoid buying a fake.• Students will be examined on all aspects of Russian literature and history.• Her new book examines the causes of social discontent.• A team of investigators is examining the crash site.• This is seen by examining the function W1 which, according to the arguments given above, predicts the presence of oscillations.• When the police examined the gun, they found Wright's fingerprints on it.• Experts who examined the painting believe it is genuine.• The police will examine the weapon for fingerprints.• The video shows women how to examine their breasts for cancer.• The study will also evaluate the assessment procedures in use and examine their impact on children and on the school more generally.• As this is the case, part of the research will examine various experimental techniques used previously in studies on word recognition.• Thursday, Vacco announced a new statewide commission to examine ways of improving the quality of care for the dying.• Several hotels have examined ways to provide better access to wheelchair users.• Current work in neural networks is examining ways to reduce the size of the training set required.examine how/whether/what etc• A starting point is to examine what a liberal-democracy is.• Among other things, we shall have to examine how far the hopes and claims of librarians match up to present realities.• That sounds like motherhood and apple pie until we examine what full employment really means.• In order to understand fully the effect of resource issues on the public sector we need to examine what happens in practice.• We want to examine whether our theory can contribute to the explanation of this fact.• But there are good reasons for examining how self-realisation and moral careers are developed within civil society.• This chapter examines how the courts have applied these principles in cases involving teachers.• Then we shall examine how these laws were utilized to deal with large-scale public protest during the 1980s.Origin examine (1300-1400) French examiner, from Latin examinare, from examen “weighing out” 