exploratory

adjective

ex·​plor·​ato·​ry ik-ˈsplȯr-ə-ˌtȯr-ē 

: of, relating to, or being exploration

exploratory surgery

exploratory drilling for oil

Examples of exploratory in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In recent years, Amazon’s assumption of the Thursday Night Football package and exploratory nibbles from the likes of YouTube have poured billions of bonus bucks into the league’s coffers. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 11 May 2026

The Vikings brought free-agent receiver Jauan Jennings in for some exploratory sessions, and that signing remains a possibility. —Alec Lewis, New York Times, 4 May 2026

After a two-month exploratory tour, Hamilton, 61, chose to run as a Democrat rather than an independent to avoid splitting votes. —Hannah Wise, Kansas City Star, 30 Apr. 2026

The Pentagon announced the initial, exploratory contracts with Google, OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI in July. —Jared Perlo, NBC news, 29 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing exploratory

• exploratory surgery

Rhymes for exploratory

• accusatory
• admonitory
• ambulatory
• amendatory
• celebratory
• circulatory
• combinatory
• commendatory
• compensatory
• condemnatory
• confirmatory
• confiscatory

Kids Definition

exploratory

adjective

ex·​plor·​a·​to·​ry

ik-ˈsplōr-ə-ˌtōr-ē, 

-ˌtȯr-

: of, relating to, or being exploration

exploratory drilling for oil

an exploratory trip

exploratory surgery

Medical Definition

exploratory

adjective

ex·​plor·​ato·​ry ik-ˈsplōr-ə-ˌtōr-ē, -ˈsplȯr-, -ˌtȯr- 

: of, relating to, or being exploration

exploratory surgery