- 1 [transitive, intransitive] to travel to or around an area or a country in order to learn about it explore something (for something) The city is best explored on foot. They explored the land to the south of the Murray River. explore (for something) As soon as we arrived on the island we were eager to explore. companies exploring for (= searching for) oil Wordfinderadventureadrenaline, adventure, attempt, challenge, enthusiasm, escapade, excitement, explore, kick, thrill Wordfinderexplorecolonize, discover, explore, pioneer, reconnaissance, scout, settle, terrain, territory, voyage Oxford Collocations Dictionary verb + explorebe keen to, want to, wish to, … prepositionfor See full entry See related entries: Hobbies, Types of holiday/vacation
- 2 [transitive] explore something to examine something completely or carefully in order to find out more about it synonym analyse These ideas will be explored in more detail in chapter 7. Language BankaboutSaying what a text is about The book is about homeless people in the cities. The report deals with the issue of homelessness in London. The writer discusses the problems faced by homeless people. The article presents an overview of the issues surrounding homelessness. The novel explores the theme of friendship among homeless people. The first chapter examines the relationship between homelessness and drug addiction. The paper considers the question of why so many young people become homeless. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbextensively, briefly, fully, … verb + exploreneed to, be keen to, want to, … See full entry
- 3[transitive] explore something to feel something with your hands or another part of the body She explored the sand with her toes. see also unexplored Word Originmid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘investigate (why)’): from French explorer, from Latin explorare ‘search out’, from ex- ‘out’ + plorare ‘utter a cry’.Extra examples The film usefully explores some of the issues surrounding adoption. These questions have not been fully explored yet. This idea is worth exploring in some detail. companies exploring for oil A day isn’t really long enough to explore the town. After the meeting you will be free to explore at leisure. Bicycles can be hired if you want to explore further afield. Canadian companies are exploring for oil in the region. Stick to the main roads and don’t be tempted to go exploring down minor ones. The research will explore whether there are common patterns across groups. The study explores the differences between the way girls and boys talk. We need to explore every possible avenue. We were keen to explore the region.
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BrE BrE//ɪkˈsplɔː(r)//; NAmE NAmE//ɪkˈsplɔːr//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they explore BrE BrE//ɪkˈsplɔː(r)//; NAmE NAmE//ɪkˈsplɔːr//
he / she / it explores BrE BrE//ɪkˈsplɔːz//; NAmE NAmE//ɪkˈsplɔːrz//
past simple explored BrE BrE//ɪkˈsplɔːd//; NAmE NAmE//ɪkˈsplɔːrd//
past participle explored BrE BrE//ɪkˈsplɔːd//; NAmE NAmE//ɪkˈsplɔːrd//
-ing form exploring BrE BrE//ɪkˈsplɔːrɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ɪkˈsplɔːrɪŋ//
Hobbies, Types of holiday/vacationCheck pronunciation: explore
