- 1 [intransitive, transitive] to carefully examine the facts of a situation, an event, a crime, etc. to find out the truth about it or how it happened The FBI has been called in to investigate. (informal) ‘What was that noise?’ ‘I'll go and investigate.’ investigate something Police are investigating possible links between the murders. investigate what, how, etc… Police are investigating what happened. CollocationsCrimeCommitting a crime commit a crime/a murder/a violent assault/a brutal killing/an armed robbery/fraud be involved in terrorism/a suspected arson attack/people smuggling/human trafficking engage/participate in criminal activity/illegal practices/acts of mindless vandalism steal somebody’s wallet/purse/(British English) mobile phone/(North American English) cell phone rob a bank/a person/a tourist break into/ (British English) burgle/ (North American English) burglarize a house/a home/an apartment hijack a plane/ship/bus smuggle drugs/weapons/arms/immigrants launder drug money (through something) forge documents/certificates/passports take/accept/pay somebody/offer (somebody) a bribe run a phishing/an email/an Internet scamFighting crime combat/fight crime/terrorism/corruption/drug trafficking prevent/stop credit-card fraud/child abuse/software piracy deter/stop criminals/burglars/thieves/shoplifters/vandals reduce/tackle/crack down on knife/gun/violent/street crime; (especially British English) antisocial behaviour foil a bank raid/a terrorist plot help/support/protect the victims of crimeInvestigating crime report a crime/a theft/a rape/an attack/(especially British English) an incident to the police witness the crime/attack/murder/incident investigate a murder/(especially North American English) a homicide/a burglary/a robbery/the alleged incident conduct/launch/pursue an investigation (into…); (especially British English) a police/murder inquiry investigate/reopen a criminal/murder case examine/investigate/find fingerprints at the crime scene/the scene of crime collect/gather forensic evidence uncover new evidence/a fraud/a scam/a plot/a conspiracy/political corruption/a cache of weapons describe/identify a suspect/the culprit/the perpetrator/the assailant/the attacker question/interrogate a suspect/witness solve/crack the case justice Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbcarefully, closely, in detail, … verb + investigateask somebody to, be called in to, decide to, … prepositionfor See full entry See related entries: Solving crime
- 2 [transitive] investigate somebody (for something) to try to find out information about somebody’s character, activities, etc. This is not the first time he has been investigated by the police for fraud.
- 3 [transitive, intransitive] to find out information and facts about a subject or problem by study or research investigate (something) Scientists are investigating the effects of diet on fighting cancer. investigate how, what, etc… The research investigates how foreign speakers gain fluency. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbcarefully, closely, in detail, … verb + investigateask somebody to, be called in to, decide to, … prepositionfor See full entry Word Originearly 16th cent.: from Latin investigat- ‘traced out’, from the verb investigare, from in- ‘into’ + vestigare ‘track, trace out’.Extra examples He is being investigated for illegal business dealings. Police have been called in to investigate the complaints. The allegations have not yet been properly investigated. The company has pledged to investigate claims that its products are unsafe. ‘What was that noise?’ ‘I’ll go and investigate.’ Police are investigating possible links between the two murders.
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BrE BrE//ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪt//; NAmE NAmE//ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪt//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they investigate BrE BrE//ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪt//; NAmE NAmE//ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪt//
he / she / it investigates BrE BrE//ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪts//; NAmE NAmE//ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪts//
past simple investigated BrE BrE//ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪtɪd//; NAmE NAmE//ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪtɪd//
past participle investigated BrE BrE//ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪtɪd//; NAmE NAmE//ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪtɪd//
-ing form investigating BrE BrE//ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪtɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪtɪŋ//
Solving crimeCheck pronunciation: investigate
