Definition of QUERY

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

Meanwhile, cookies and algorithms weaponize your online queries and badger you into buying. — Jacob Gallagher, WSJ, "The Case for Buying Less Clothing," 4 Jan. 2019 But some critics question whether the investigator who will lead the mayor’s review — Kay H. Hodge, a respected labor and employment lawyer and partner at Stoneman, Chandler & Miller LLP — can run an independent query. — Meghan E. Irons, BostonGlobe.com, "Questions raised about City Hall ties of outside counsel investigating Fire Department," 18 June 2018 The questions reflected what the defense lawyers anticipated Trump would be asked, rather than verbatim queries that Mueller's team provided, the person said. — Chad Day And Eric Tucker, chicagotribune.com, "White House lawyer working on Mueller probe to retire at end of month," 2 May 2018 In 2016, only about 920 made similar queries — and that was record-breaking. — Kathleen Parker | Opinion, Anchorage Daily News, "Thanks to Trump, maybe this really will be the year of the woman," 21 Mar. 2018 Beyond wondering whether your favorite movie or nominee didn't win, Oscars viewers, especially those who don't work in or closely follow the entertainment industry, may have had a few other queries after Sunday night's awards show. — Hilary Lewis, The Hollywood Reporter, "Oscars: Hal Janney and More Inside References Explained," 9 Mar. 2018 To satisfy that requirement, the state uses continuous query, putting the name of each of their nearly 84,000 physicians on a list of names being monitored. — Matt Wynn, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "There's a tool to help states find problem doctors. Why do so few use it?," 7 Mar. 2018 So will Bixby be smart enough to deal with all the queries and commands that people already expect a smart speaker to handle? — Jacob Kastrenakes, The Verge, "Five things we still don’t know about Samsung’s Galaxy Home smart speaker," 10 Aug. 2018 Turkish officials have not answered queries from The Associated Press about Khashoggi's Apple Watch. — Fox News, "Newspaper says Turkey has audio of Saudi writer's slaying," 14 Oct. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Commissioned by Euro-NCAP and Thatcham, a research company started by the automotive insurance industry, the poll queried 1,567 car owners from China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and the US. — Sean O'kane, The Verge, "Tesla stopped promoting the ‘Full Self-Driving’ option for its cars," 20 Oct. 2018 Kane admitted that the duo had not wanted to part of the Liverpool or Southampton squads moving forward, and queried why either side should have kept the pair against their will either now or last summer. — SI.com, "Harry Kane Reveals Spurs Trophy Ambitions & What Club Need to Do to Keep Him," 8 Jan. 2018 GraphQL, a language for querying databases created by Facebook in 2012, is being spun out into an open-source foundation,. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "How Democrats’ victory in the midterms will be good for Facebook," 8 Nov. 2018 If the crime involves offshore accounts or companies, U.S. officials have to query the governments of those countries to get information. — Jeff Andrews, Curbed, "Why financial criminals use real estate to launder money," 10 Aug. 2018 Though the mayor’s office declined to talk about the reports filed, other city departments were more forthcoming when queried by The Times. — Dakota Smith, latimes.com, "Mayor's office won't talk about 'inappropriate behavior' among Garcetti staff," 18 June 2018 Xiao was able to determine within a few seconds of querying the public LocationSmart service the near-exact location of the mobile phone belonging to all five of my sources. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, "Website leaked real-time location of most US cell phones to almost anyone," 17 May 2018 Each airline’s 10 busiest long routes and 10 busiest medium-length routes, both domestic and international, are queried to get the fullest picture of award availability. — Scott Mccartney, WSJ, "Top Frequent-Flier Programs for 2018," 16 May 2018 Alonso was attending the 2018 Il Bilbao International Football Summit when he was queried on the long-running tax case that could yet see him found guilty despite his protestations. — SI.com, "Ex-Real Madrid Star 'Not Unrelaxed' About Tax Evasion Case As Possible 5-Year Jail Term Looms," 7 Apr. 2018

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.