explorer

noun

ex·​plor·​er ik-ˈsplȯr-ər 

1

: one that explores

especially : a person who travels in search of geographical or scientific information

2

Explorer : a member of a coed scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America for young people ages 14 to 20 focusing on career awareness

Examples of explorer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These astronaut star projectors come in many varieties, but someone has decided this particular interstellar explorer needed a tiny electric guitar. —Chris McMullen, Space.com, 27 Nov. 2025

Set in the eerie streets of Victorian London, horror drama series Penny Dreadful features Green as Vanessa Ives, a troubled but powerful clairvoyant, working alongside Sir Malcolm, an explorer driven to find his missing daughter. —Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025

Like the French explorers who gave them their name, the Teton peaks mesmerize at any time of the year, but especially when dripping with snow in winter. —Crai S Bower, Outside, 24 Nov. 2025

One young explorer lifted a delicate brittle star briefly from the water to the joyful oohs and aahs of curious onlookers. —Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for explorer

• restorer
• borer
• corer
• horror
• maurer
• scorer
• storer

Kids Definition

explorer

noun

ex·​plor·​er ik-ˈsplōr-ər 

-ˈsplȯr-

1

: one that explores

a vehicle called the lunar explorer

especially : a person who travels in search of new geographical or scientific information

2

capitalized : a member of the scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America for young people 14 to 20 years old

Medical Definition

explorer

noun

ex·​plor·​er ik-ˈsplōr-ər, -ˈsplȯr- 

: an instrument for exploring cavities especially in teeth : probe sense 1