quiz

1 of 2

noun

plural quizzes
1
: an eccentric person
2
3
: the act or action of quizzing
specifically : a short oral or written test

quiz

2 of 2

verb

quizzed; quizzing

transitive verb

1
: to make fun of : mock
2
: to look at inquisitively
3
: to question closely
quizzer noun

Examples of quiz in a Sentence

Noun The teacher gave us a quiz on the material we studied yesterday. always eager to put everything down, my boyfriend had to be a quiz and make fun of the actors and costumes in our local theater troupe's latest production Verb quickly quizzed her about the assignment before heading off to class hated the way those relatives would quiz me about my partner and our living arrangements
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Last week, 51% of readers who took this week’s news quiz got eight or more questions right. Aj Willingham, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024 Here are 10 fun facts about DST and how our readers performed on the quiz: Benjamin Franklin introduced the idea of daylight saving time The applicable concept is officially credited to New Zealand entomologist George Hudson in 1895. Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 6 Mar. 2024 Give it a whirl — test your knowledge of all things pizza in this fun and engaging lifestyle quiz! Brittany Kasko, Fox News, 16 Feb. 2024 So far, 64% of fellow quiz fans have gotten eight or more questions right. Andrew Torgan, CNN, 25 Feb. 2024 Take this quiz to test your knowledge of Cincinnati history. Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 24 Feb. 2024 For those looking for swag, players can win pins and other items at quiz centers scattered around the habitats. Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2024 The app uses quizzes and activities designed by relationship experts, combined with AI analysis, to guide couples through their journey. Neil Sahota, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024 Here's a quiz to test your knowledge of Super Bowl ad costs. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2024
Verb
BuzzFeed, which debuted in 2006, was a social media sensation in its heyday, known for its listicles, quizzes and funny videos that went viral online. Wendy Lee, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2024 Moore, 53, says Daly barely visits their 5-year-old daughter Brooklyn when quizzed about how co-parenting is going. Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 7 Feb. 2024 The former Enquirer editor habitually quizzed his colleagues and even his family on Cincinnati history and the Civil War. Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, 17 Jan. 2024 Meyers quizzed Biden about a conspiracy theory spread among some conservatives on social media that Swift and Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce are part of an elaborate plot to help Democrats win the November election. Zeke Miller, Fortune, 27 Feb. 2024 The evaluations include quizzing the models on grade-school math and science questions, testing their commonsense reasoning and measuring their propensity to repeat misinformation. Angela Yang, NBC News, 20 Feb. 2024 Tomlinson leads a panel of comedians ― in Tuesday nigh's premiere, Kurt Braunohler, Aparna Nancherla and Whitney Cummings ― through a series of arbitrary games and quizzes for points that lead to no real prize. Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2024 The campaign's inaugural post featured the president being quizzed on Sunday's Super Bowl — and included a reference to the latest political conspiracy theory centering on pop superstar Taylor Swift. Will Weissert and Zeke Miller, Quartz, 12 Feb. 2024 While visiting The Tonight Show on Friday, the Loki star was quizzed on several popular fan theories about how the Disney+ series' season 2 finale will affect the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe moving forward. EW.com, 11 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'quiz.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1781, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1787, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of quiz was circa 1781

Dictionary Entries Near quiz

Cite this Entry

“Quiz.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quiz. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

quiz

1 of 2 noun
plural quizzes
1
: a person who mocks
2
: the act or action of quizzing
especially : a short oral or written test

quiz

2 of 2 verb
quizzed; quizzing
1
: to make fun of : mock
2
: to ask many questions
quizzer noun

More from Merriam-Webster on quiz

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