query

1 of 2

noun

que·​ry ˈkwir-ē  ˈkwer- 

plural queries

1

: question, inquiry

2

: a question in the mind : doubt

3

: question mark sense 2

query

2 of 2

verb

queried; querying

transitive verb

1

: to ask questions of especially with a desire for authoritative information

2

: to ask questions about especially in order to resolve a doubt

3

: to put as a question

4

: to mark with a query

querier noun

Synonyms of query

Noun

• doubt
• skepticism
• suspicion
• uncertainty

Verb

• question
• challenge

Choose the Right Synonym for query

ask, question, interrogate, query, inquire mean to address a person in order to gain information.

ask implies no more than the putting of a question.

ask for directions

question usually suggests the asking of series of questions.

questioned them about every detail of the trip

interrogate suggests formal or official systematic questioning.

the prosecutor interrogated the witness all day

query implies a desire for authoritative information or confirmation.

queried a librarian about the book

inquire implies a searching for facts or for truth often specifically by asking questions.

began to inquire of friends and teachers what career she should pursue

Examples of query in a Sentence

Noun

I have a query about my order.

The librarian responded to my query.

Verb

They conducted a survey in which several hundred people were queried about their dietary habits.

it seems odd that someone would want two stoves, so you'd better query that order

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

By modeling investments based on the AI responses, researchers found that an investor would earn roughly 5% more over time if the original chatbot query was written with high financial literacy. —Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 15 May 2026

Sotir said the firm is receiving more inbound queries from business owners who are pressured by tariffs, inflation and other factors. —Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 15 May 2026

Verb

On Thursday, the denim giant introduced conversational analytics, a new capability that allows employees to query the company’s data in their common language and receive secure, accurate and immediate answers. —Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 7 May 2026

One such template application involves encrypted semantic search, which queries databases or datasets and returns relevant results based on the context or meaning of the search terms rather than keywords that match them. —IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

alteration of earlier quere, from Latin quaere, imperative of quaerere to ask

First Known Use

Noun

1620, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1614, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for query

• beery
• bleary
• cheery
• cirri
• dearie
• deary
• dreary
• eerie
• kiri
• leary
• leery
• peery

Kids Definition

query

1 of 2 noun

que·​ry ˈkwi(ə)r-ē  ˈkwe(ə)r- 

plural queries

: question entry 1 sense 1a

query

2 of 2 verb

queried; querying

1

: to ask questions about especially in order to clear up doubts

2

: to put as a question

queried the matter to their teacher

3

: to ask questions of

queried the professor