query

noun

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que·ry | \ ˈkwir-ē

, ˈkwer-

plural queries

Definition of query

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : question, inquiry

2 : a question in the mind : doubt

3 : question mark sense 2

query

verb

queried; querying

Definition of query (Entry 2 of 2)

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

Other Words from query Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Example Sentences Learn More about query

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Choose the Right Synonym for query

Verb

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 Every answer to that question leads to another query. — Amy Davidson Sorkin, The New Yorker, "Why There Is So Much Confusion About the AstraZeneca Vaccine," 23 Mar. 2021 The information gathered by the query isn't used for vaccine prioritization. — Editorial Board, Star Tribune, "Remove state's vaccine query on sexual orientation," 5 Mar. 2021 When Biden moved on to fielding questions, the president didn’t get a single query about the virus that has rewritten the rules of society for more than a year. — Jonathan Lemire, Anchorage Daily News, "Biden leaves door open for change in Senate procedures to move his agenda forward," 26 Mar. 2021 No query will play a bigger factor in the Warriors’ long-term outlook, however, than whether Wiseman can start to play up to his pre-draft billing as a franchise center. — Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle, "Why Warriors are prioritizing player development over a playoff berth," 24 Mar. 2021 Another Gallup query indicated 57% of Americans want stricter gun laws, a percentage that's on the decline. — Eliott C. Mclaughlin, CNN, "Analysis: Mass shootings signal a dubious 'back to normal' in America," 23 Mar. 2021 Many search query systems preference workers whose backgrounds mimic those of people who are already hired by the company. — H.v. Macarthur, Forbes, "Hiring For The Future: A Playbook For Building A Diverse, Inclusive & Equitable Workforce," 18 Mar. 2021 Another query came to mind when there was time for only one more question during Tampa Bay safety Antoine Winfield Jr.'s Super Bowl virtual news conference on Wednesday. — Mark Craig, Star Tribune, "Buccaneers defense looking to limit 'money plays' by Tyreek Hill, Chiefs," 5 Feb. 2021 So a freelance editor posted a query on Usenet newsgroups and quickly received an example of a use of the word from 1938. — Livia Gershon, Smithsonian Magazine, "A Dictionary of Science Fiction Runs From Afrofuturism to Zero-G," 12 Mar. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Most science communication training programs query participants and get positive responses. — Robert Capers, The Conversation, "Scientists need to become better communicators, but it’s hard to measure whether training works," 7 Apr. 2021 The tactic also enabled someone to query a set of user profiles and obtain certain information from their public profiles. — Paul Ziobro, WSJ, "Was My Facebook Data Leaked? What You Need to Know," 6 Apr. 2021 Dougall explained that 911 dispatch centers had allowed Banjo to directly query their databases. — Bethany Rodgers, The Salt Lake Tribune, "State auditors find that Banjo oversold its surveillance tech to the Utah attorney general’s office," 30 Mar. 2021 Oracle will automatically identify the relationship between the data sets providing a business-level view of how the business analytics tool will query the data. — Patrick Moorhead, Forbes, "Oracle Announces Next Gen Autonomous Data Warehouse, Expands Addressable Market," 17 Mar. 2021 A year later, at the Alphabet stockholder meeting—the only annual opportunity for shareholders to query Google’s executives—Mr. — Rob Copeland, WSJ, "Meet the Lawyer Trying to Keep Google From Being Broken Up," 19 Dec. 2020 The data stays local, yet researchers at other hospitals can easily query it. — Sarah Elizabeth Richards, Wired, "One Man’s Search for the DNA Data That Could Save His Life," 19 Nov. 2020 If not, the resolver will query the dedicated authoritative server for that particular domain. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, "DNS cache poisoning, the Internet attack from 2008, is back from the dead," 12 Nov. 2020 Ullrich said in an interview that SANS honeypots have received GET Web requests that attempt to query whether a server is running a vulnerable version of WebLogic. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, "Hackers are on the hunt for Oracle servers vulnerable to potent exploit," 29 Oct. 2020

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