Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - explore

(explores, exploring, explored) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you explore a place, you travel around it to find out what it is like. After exploring the old part of town there is a guided tour of the cathedral... We’ve come to this country, let’s explore! VERB: V n, V • exploration (explorations) We devote several days to the exploration of the magnificent Maya sites of Copan... N-VAR 2. If you explore an idea or suggestion, you think about it or comment on it in detail, in order to assess it carefully. The film explores the relationship between artist and instrument. = investigate VERB: V n • exploration I looked forward to the exploration of their theories. N-VAR 3. If people explore an area for a substance such as oil or minerals, they study the area and do tests on the land to see whether they can find it. Central to the operation is a mile-deep well, dug originally to explore for oil... VERB: V for n • exploration Oryx is a Dallas-based oil and gas exploration and production concern. N-UNCOUNT 4. If you explore something with your hands or fingers, you touch it to find out what it feels like. He explored the wound with his finger, trying to establish its extent. VERB: V n