ex·per·i·ment
ik-ˈsper-ə-mənt 
also
-ˈspir-
ex·per·i·ment
ik-ˈsper-ə-ˌment
also -ˈspir
experimented; experimenting; experiments
: to carry out experiments : try out a new procedure, idea, or activity
Synonyms
Examples of experiment in a Sentence
Noun
Students will carry out simple laboratory experiments.
They did some experiments with magnets.
These theories have not yet been confirmed by experiment.
an experiment in living more frugally
the city's experiment with a longer school year
Recent Examples on the Web
Tariq Panja, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024
So there are a variety of sources of data, different kinds of experiments.
—David Remnick, The New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2024
Back at the asylum, Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles make surprise appearances as mad scientists doing experiments on Swift, as Post Malone watches from the side in a scene that feels like something out of Poor Things.
—Lauren Huff, EW.com, 20 Apr. 2024
One of those experiments was sourdough doughnuts: a tangier, fluffier version.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 20 Apr. 2024
The second season of The Jinx — with Smerling seemingly out and Sam Neave in — is a similar thought experiment.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Apr. 2024
Swift has occasionally taken this idea to heart before, especially on her once-scorned, now revered hip-hop experiment Reputation.
—Ann Powers, NPR, 19 Apr. 2024
To generalize, Water From Your Eyes is about provocative pop experiments; This Is Lorelei is for more straightforwardly emotional verse/chorus songs.
—Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 17 Apr. 2024
Crayola Liquid Science Kit for Kids My 6-year-old son loves conducting at-home science experiments, and this kit has prevented the boredom blues on many occasions.
—Laura Lu, Parents, 15 Apr. 2024
Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Since July of last year, American military officials have been experimenting with large language models for military tasks, according to Bloomberg.
—Maxwell Zeff / Gizmodo, Quartz, 11 Apr. 2024
This isn’t the first time Zendaya has experimented with bangs.
—Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2024
In Denmark the drinking culture is heavy, and the next step is to experiment with drugs from an early age.
—Annika Pham, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
Deter-Wolf and his colleagues also experimented with different traditional techniques in a September 2022 study.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
The news comes as the streaming service continues to experiment with live programming.
—Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Apr. 2024
Aksa is the first major company in Turkey to run these trials, but other groups have been experimenting with them across the globe in recent years.
—Ugur Yilmaz, Fortune Europe, 8 Apr. 2024
People who may have experimented with mocktails in 2020 could have decided to stick with it.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN, 1 Apr. 2024
Noun
The report said that the Chinese investigators went so far as to conduct human experiments to see how the body processed TMZ.
—Tariq Panja, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024
So there are a variety of sources of data, different kinds of experiments.
—David Remnick, The New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2024
Back at the asylum, Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles make surprise appearances as mad scientists doing experiments on Swift, as Post Malone watches from the side in a scene that feels like something out of Poor Things.
—Lauren Huff, EW.com, 20 Apr. 2024
One of those experiments was sourdough doughnuts: a tangier, fluffier version.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 20 Apr. 2024
The second season of The Jinx — with Smerling seemingly out and Sam Neave in — is a similar thought experiment.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Apr. 2024
Swift has occasionally taken this idea to heart before, especially on her once-scorned, now revered hip-hop experiment Reputation.
—Ann Powers, NPR, 19 Apr. 2024
To generalize, Water From Your Eyes is about provocative pop experiments; This Is Lorelei is for more straightforwardly emotional verse/chorus songs.
—Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 17 Apr. 2024
Crayola Liquid Science Kit for Kids My 6-year-old son loves conducting at-home science experiments, and this kit has prevented the boredom blues on many occasions.
—Laura Lu, Parents, 15 Apr. 2024
Verb
Some of these flourishes are slightly inconsistent with the material, but demonstrate a new voice excited to experiment with the form of teen comedy.
—Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Since July of last year, American military officials have been experimenting with large language models for military tasks, according to Bloomberg.
—Maxwell Zeff / Gizmodo, Quartz, 11 Apr. 2024
This isn’t the first time Zendaya has experimented with bangs.
—Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2024
In Denmark the drinking culture is heavy, and the next step is to experiment with drugs from an early age.
—Annika Pham, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
Deter-Wolf and his colleagues also experimented with different traditional techniques in a September 2022 study.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
The news comes as the streaming service continues to experiment with live programming.
—Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Apr. 2024
Aksa is the first major company in Turkey to run these trials, but other groups have been experimenting with them across the globe in recent years.
—Ugur Yilmaz, Fortune Europe, 8 Apr. 2024
People who may have experimented with mocktails in 2020 could have decided to stick with it.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN, 1 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'experiment.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Experiment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/experiment. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
experiment
1 of 2 noun
ex·per·i·ment
ik-ˈsper-ə-mənt
: test entry 1 sense 1, trial entry 1 sense 1
especially
: a procedure or operation carried out under controlled conditions in order to discover something, to test a hypothesis, or to serve as an example
Medical Definition
experiment
1 of 2 noun
ex·per·i·ment
ik-ˈsper-ə-mənt also -ˈspir-
1
: a procedure carried out under controlled conditions in order to discover an unknown effect or law, to test or establish a hypothesis, or to illustrate a known law
2
: the process of testing : experimentation
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