laboratory test

noun

variants or lab test

: a test conducted under controlled scientific conditions in a laboratory or similar setting

… in laboratory tests of acyclovir, herpes strains have mutated to forms resistant to the drug.

—Linda Garmon

We've measured the amount of soap in shampoos and used lab tests to determine cleaning action and pH.

—Consumer Reports

specifically, medical : a test (such as a blood test or urinalysis procedure) performed by a medical laboratory on a specimen taken from a patient

Even experienced doctors cannot distinguish "strep" throat from other-caused sore throats without a laboratory test of fluid taken from the throat.

—Melva Weber

Those two values are seen with a complete blood count, the lab test that enumerates the number of white and red blood cells.

—Paul G. Donahue

laboratory testing noun

or less commonly lab testing

… it has survived nearly two years of strenuous independent laboratory testing and been certified safe for home and commercial use.

—Harper's

Examples of laboratory test in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Kenya Wildlife Service Director General Erustus Kanga said preliminary laboratory tests detected cyanide. — ABC News, 29 July 2026

Cyclospora cannot be detected through standard bacterial stool cultures and requires a specific laboratory test ordered by a physician. — Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026

In laboratory tests, the cloak kept the temperature inside relatively uniform while restoring the heat pattern outside, effectively concealing a complex 3D object from an infrared camera when heat was applied from different directions. — New Atlas, 29 July 2026

Humans choose the problem, provide computing resources, build evaluators, inspect the answer and conduct the laboratory test. — Ron Schmelzer, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for laboratory test

• abreast
• accessed
• addressed
• appressed
• armrest
• arrest
• assessed
• attest
• backrest
• behest
• bequest
• caressed