Definition of investigate
investigated
;investigating
transitive verb
: to observe or study by close examination and systematic inquiry
intransitive verb
: to make a systematic examination; especially : to conduct an official inquiry
From the M-W Editors
Examples of investigate in a Sentence
The police are still investigating the murder.
The accident was thoroughly investigated.
The manager promised to investigate when we pointed out an error on our bill.
He was investigated for his involvement in the incident.
Recent Examples of investigate from the Web
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Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the shooting.
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Fuhrman was one of the first officers to investigate the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson, Simpson's ex-wife, and Ron Goldman, for which Simpson was arrested and charged.
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Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the shooting.
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The company was later investigated for allegedly having employees buy back its product to juice sales numbers, although Tetrick later said that an investigation had found no evidence of wrongdoing.
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The Metro Squad, made up of detectives from area police departments, was called in to investigate leads.
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The supreme court has authorised the prosecutors to investigate scores of members of congress.
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The union said the incident was not properly investigated, and that all employees were not notified of the incident.
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The law also requires any jail deaths to be formally investigated by an independent law enforcement agency.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'investigate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of investigate
Latin investigatus, past participle of investigare to track, investigate, from in- + vestigium footprint, track
INVESTIGATE Defined for English Language Learners
investigate
playDefinition of investigate for English Language Learners
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: to try to find out the facts about (something, such as a crime or an accident) in order to learn how it happened, who did it, etc.
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: to try to get information about (someone who may have done something illegal)
INVESTIGATE Defined for Kids
investigate
playDefinition of investigate for Students
investigated
;investigating
: to study by close examination and questioning Police are investigating the crime.
investigator
\-ˌgā-tər\ nounLaw Dictionary
investigate
playLegal Definition of investigate
investigated
investigating
transitive verb
intransitive verb
Learn More about investigate
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See words that rhyme with investigate Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for investigate Spanish Central: Translation of investigate Nglish: Translation of investigate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of investigate for Arabic speakers
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