exhaustive

adjective

ex·​haus·​tive ig-ˈzȯ-stiv How to pronounce exhaustive (audio)
: including all possibilities : thorough
conducted an exhaustive search
exhaustively adverb
exhaustiveness noun
exhaustivity noun

Examples of exhaustive in a Sentence

The list was long but not exhaustive. after an exhaustive search of our house, we still hadn't found the cat
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Because it is privately funded and receives no federal money, the project is exempt from many exhaustive governmental vetting and environmental analysis requirements. Anjeanette Damon, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2025 My list was not exhaustive, of course. Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2025 And the database is far from exhaustive. Angela Yang, NBC news, 8 Oct. 2025 If there’s an equivalent to a Rosebud for the subject of Miller’s exhaustive deep dive into Scorsese’s life, the doc identifies it as being an incident that happened in Corona, Queens, where young Marty was living with his older brother and his parents as a boy. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for exhaustive

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1789, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of exhaustive was circa 1789

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Cite this Entry

“Exhaustive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exhaustive. Accessed 12 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

exhaustive

adjective
ex·​haus·​tive ig-ˈzȯ-stiv How to pronounce exhaustive (audio)
: trying all possibilities : thorough
an exhaustive search
exhaustively adverb
exhaustiveness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on exhaustive

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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