probe

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noun \ ˈprōb \

Definition of probe

1 :a slender medical instrument used especially for exploration (as of a wound or body cavity)

2 a :any of various testing devices or substances: such as

(1) :a pointed metal tip for making electrical contact with a circuit element being checked

(2) :a usually small object that is inserted into something so as to test conditions at a given point

(3) :a device used to penetrate or send back information especially from outer space or a celestial body

(4) :a device (such as an ultrasound generator) or a substance (such as radioactively labeled DNA) used to obtain specific information for diagnostic or experimental purposes

b :a pipe on the receiving airplane thrust into the drogue of the delivering airplane in air refueling

3 a :the action of probing

b :a penetrating or critical investigation

c :a tentative exploratory advance or survey

See probe defined for English-language learners

See probe defined for kids

Examples of probe in a Sentence

The FBI probe did not produce any new evidence.
a congressional probe into the accusations

Recent Examples of probe from the Web

Pereira was the only official indicted in the suits probe, but the charges were later dismissed.

— douglas hanks, miamiherald, "Sergio Pereira, Miami-Dade’s first Cuban-American county manager, dies at 73," 27 Aug. 2017
National police forces were wilfully excluded from the probe, the largest National Police and Civil Guard associations said in a joint statement Tuesday.

— esteban duarte, Bloomberg.com, "Catalans Make Case for Statehood With Response to Barcelona," 25 Aug. 2017
Word of the dog's slaying spread quickly through the community, and sheriff's officials launched what would become a lengthy probe.

— jonece starr dunigan, AL.com, "Alabama DEA, FBI raiding Hoover doctor's office," 22 Aug. 2017
That’s because the sun is so bright that even satellites and special probes can’t gaze straight at the sun just to glimpse the outer crown, or corona.

— seth borenstein, The Seattle Times, "More than spectacle: Eclipses create science and so can you," 14 Aug. 2017
F.B.I. agents raided Manafort’s home in Alexandria, Virginia, to seize documents and materials of interest in the ongoing D.O.J. probe, according to a Washington Post report published Wednesday morning.

— abigail tracy, The Hive, "Paul Manafort’s Home Reportedly Raided by the F.B.I.," 9 Aug. 2017
Browns: WR Corey Coleman was cleared of charges in assault probe.

— paul dehner jr., Cincinnati.com, "Bengals Walkthru: Don't read the depth chart," 9 Aug. 2017
An author (Rebecca Hall) intent on debunking ghost stories is hired by a boarding school teacher (Dominic West) to probe reports of a ghost following the death of a student.

— julie kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, "The 28 Best Halloween Films on Netflix," 21 July 2017
China also plans to launch another moon probe, Chang’e 5, later this year or in 2018, and return samples to earth.

— justin bachman, Bloomberg.com, "The Battle for the Moon Begins," 20 July 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of probe

Medieval Latin proba examination, from Latin probare

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1580

See Words from the same year

probe Synonyms

Synonyms

delving, disquisition, examen, examination, exploration, inquest, inquisition, investigation, probation, inquiry, probing, research, study

Other Aeronautics/Aerospace Terms

airway, apron, corridor, dirigible, fishtail, flat-hat, vector

probe

verb

Definition of probe

probed; probing

transitive verb

1 :to search into and explore very thoroughly :subject to a penetrating investigation

2 :to examine with a probe

unmanned vehicles probed space

intransitive verb

:to make a searching exploratory investigation

—

prober

noun

See probe defined for English-language learners

Examples of probe in a Sentence

His questions made it clear he was probing for information.
He didn't like the police probing into his past.
He didn't like the police probing him about his past.
The doctor probed the wound with his finger.
Searchers probed the mud with long poles.
She probed the files for evidence that would help the investigation.

Recent Examples of probe from the Web

Having met Stone multiple times, since the start of her career, she's always been the epitome of grace and kindness, remembering personal details, asking probing questions and most of all, taking the time to listen to my answers.

— donna freydkin, Allure, "Emma Stone Spied Rocking Some Seriously '80s Hair on the Set of "Maniac"," 25 Aug. 2017
No one weeps for The Daily Stormer, but censors often start with the easy targets, and even a cynic like me was surprised at how quickly ProPublica started probing tech companies’ relationships with far more mainstream organizations.

— david french, National Review, "Journalists Overreach in Their Quest to Purge ‘Hate’ from the Web," 21 Aug. 2017
Rather than testing for common vulnerabilities as penetration testers often do, the internal red team Schwartz led until last month had the job of constantly probing and attacking Salesforce's systems.

— sean gallagher, Ars Technica, "Salesforce “red team” members present tool at Defcon, get fired," 10 Aug. 2017
Another statement has received bipartisan condemnation and could face scrutiny from investigators probing possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russian officials.

— jonathan lemire, The Seattle Times, "Trump seeks communications chief, but he has final word," 7 Aug. 2017
Clearly the guy who could, with a straight face, tell a parole board he's led a 'conflict-free' life and be believed—and that's another story entirely—that guy isn't going to take you any place that hasn't been probed in the past 23 years.

— richard deitsch, SI.com, "Looking At How Opportunities For Interviews With O.J. Simpson Will Work," 23 July 2017
But the trial also probed a question that’s more consequential in the long term: Whether the 2013 Legislature intentionally minimized the political clout of Latino and black Texans in enacting the maps.

— by jim malewitz, star-telegram, "At tail end of Texas redistricting trial, judges skeptical of voting-map defense," 16 July 2017
ALEA's State Bureau of Investigations is probing the shooting at the request of the Priceville police chief and Morgan County District Attorney Scott Anderson.

— ashley remkus, AL.com, "16-year-old fatally shot by police officer following multi-county chase in north Alabama," 11 July 2017
But Snowfall is less of a docu-drama than Soderbergh’s sober, probing film.

— richard lawson, HWD, "Snowfall Provides Only Fleeting, Forgettable Highs," 5 July 2017

First Known Use of probe

circa 1543

probe Synonyms

Synonyms

delve (into), dig (into), examine, inquire (into), investigate, look (into), explore, research

Related Words

inspect, sift, study, view; browse, cruise, peruse, scan, skim (through), surf, thumb (through); coinvestigate, reinvestigate

Synonym Discussion of probe

enter, penetrate, pierce, probe mean to make way into something. enter is the most general of these and may imply either going in or forcing a way in.

- entered the city in triumph

penetrate carries a strong implication of an impelling force or compelling power that achieves entrance.

- the enemy penetrated the fortress

pierce means an entering or cutting through with a sharp pointed instrument.

- pierced the boil with a lancet

probe implies penetration to investigate or explore something hidden from sight or knowledge.

- probed the depths of the sea

PROBE Defined for English Language Learners

probe

play

noun

Definition of probe for English Language Learners

: a careful examination or investigation of something
: a thin, long instrument that is used especially for examining parts of the body

probe

verb

Definition of probe for English Language Learners

: to ask a lot of questions in order to find secret or hidden information about someone or something
: to touch or reach into (something) by using your finger, a long tool, etc., in order to see or find something
: to look into or examine (something) carefully

PROBE Defined for Kids

probe

play

noun \ ˈprōb \

Definition of probe for Students

1 :a slender instrument for examining a cavity (as a deep wound)

2 :a careful investigation

probe

verb

Definition of probe for Students

probed; probing

1 :to examine with or as if with an instrument

2 :to investigate thoroughly

Medical Dictionary

probe

play

noun \ ˈprōb \

medical Definition of probe

1 :a surgical instrument that consists typically of a light slender fairly flexible pointed metal instrument like a small rod that is used typically for locating a foreign body (as a bullet embedded in a part of the body), for exploring a wound or suppurative tract by prodding or piercing, or for penetrating and exploring bodily passages and cavities

2 :a device (as an ultrasound generator) or a substance (as radioactively labeled DNA) used to obtain specific information (as detection of a virus or location of specific segments of a nucleic acid) for diagnostic or experimental purposes