experimental

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adjective ex·per·i·men·tal \ik-ˌsper-ə-ˈmen-t^əl also -ˌspir-\

Definition of experimental

1 : of, relating to, or based on experience or experiment
2a : serving the ends of or used as a means of experimentation an experimental schoolb : relating to or having the characteristics of experiment : tentative still in the experimental stage

experimentally

play \ik-ˌsper-ə-ˈmen-t^əl-ē also -ˌspir-\ adverb

See experimental defined for English-language learners

See experimental defined for kids

Examples of experimental in a Sentence

The fuel is being used on an experimental basis.
an experimental procedure for patients suffering from leukemia

Recent Examples of experimental from the Web

If that sounds like a slightly jaded sentiment from a singer-songwriter fresh out of her more experimental 20s, there’s good reason.

— matthew martinez, star-telegram, "Sarah Jaffe: ‘The internet is killing me,’ but ‘I’m not dead yet’", 5 July 2017
Charlie's parents wanted their son to travel to the United States for an experimental treatment, the British courts ruled against it after doctors asserted that Charlie had no chance of survival.

— laura beck, Cosmopolitan, "Parents Must Say Goodbye to 10-Month-Old Son After Courts Decide to End Life Support", 1 July 2017
The positive result was a welcome surprise because three previous experimental drugs of the same type had failed.

— linda a. johnson, The Seattle Times, "Merck says new type of cholesterol drug worked in big study", 27 June 2017
Per Bloomberg: Collins suffered a paper loss of A$22 million ($16.7 million) after Innate Immunotherapeutics Ltd. said a mid-stage trial of its experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis showed no effect in helping patients.

— vanityfair.com, "Disaster: Rich People Are Turning Their Backs on Trump", 27 June 2017
In some medical circles the treatment is still considered experimental.

— rene chun, Los Angeles Magazine, "Inside the Los Angeles Clinic That Uses Ketamine to Treat Depression", 19 June 2017
Robots still experimental in classrooms One of the leading companies that provides robots is Double Robotics headquartered in Burlingame, California.

— anne ryman, azcentral, "A robot named Gizmo attends university classes for you", 19 June 2017
Francesco Allegretto Michael Joo is another conceptual artist who thrived in the experimental Berengo laboratory.

— george fishman, miamiherald, "At Boca glass show, you won’t find your aunt’s collection of swans and clowns", 16 June 2017
Jazz, Indian classical, chamber music, experimental, free improvisation, Bach partidas and fugues — Iyer embraces them all with equal skill and enthusiasm.

— george varga, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Ojai Music Festival was a globe-trotting delight, with a strong San Diego contingent", 14 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'experimental'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of experimental

15th century

Other Biology Terms

autochthonous, fecund, homunculus, phylogeny, substrate

EXPERIMENTAL Defined for English Language Learners

experimental

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adjective

Definition of experimental for English Language Learners

: relating to a scientific experiment or to scientific experiments in general
: made or done in order to see how well something works
: using a new way of doing or thinking about something

EXPERIMENTAL Defined for Kids

experimental

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adjective ex·per·i·men·tal \ik-ˌsper-ə-ˈmen-t^əl\

Definition of experimental for Students

: relating to, based on, or used for experiment He's trying an experimental treatment for the disease.

Medical Dictionary

experimental

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adjective ex·per·i·men·tal \ik-ˌsper-ə-ˈment-^əl also -ˌspir-\

Medical Definition of experimental

1: of, relating to, or based on experience or experiment
2: founded on or derived from experiment the heart of the experimental method is the direct control of the thing studied—B. F. Skinner
3of a disease : intentionally produced especially in laboratory animals for the purpose of study experimental diabetes