experiment
noun
ex·per·i·ment
| \ ik-ˈsper-ə-mənt
also -ˈspir-
\
also -ˈspir-
\
Definition of experiment
(Entry 1 of 2)
b
: a tentative procedure or policy
c
: an operation or procedure carried out under controlled conditions in order to discover an unknown effect or law, to test or establish a hypothesis, or to illustrate a known law
3
: the process of testing : experimentation
experiment
verb
ex·per·i·ment
| \ ik-ˈsper-ə-ˌment also -ˈspir
\
\
experimented;
experimenting;
experiments
Definition of experiment (Entry 2 of 2)
: to carry out experiments : try out a new procedure, idea, or activity
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Other Words from experiment
Verb
experimentation
\ ik-ˌsper-ə-mən-ˈtā-shən
, -ˌmen- also -ˌspir- \
noun
, -ˌmen- also -ˌspir- \
noun
experimenter
\ ik-ˈsper-ə-ˌmen-tər
also -ˈspir- \
noun
also -ˈspir- \
noun
Synonyms for experiment
Synonyms: Noun
essay, experimentation, test, trial
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Examples of experiment in a Sentence
Noun
Students will carry out simple laboratory experiments. They did some experiments with magnets. These theories have not yet been confirmed by experiment. an experiment in living more frugally the city's experiment with a longer school year
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
And then there’s the small experiment, launched this week, dedicated to taming the wildest place in the District: the curb. — Aarian Marshall, WIRED, "Hand-Crafted Bentleys, a Climate Bill, and More Car News This Week," 4 Aug. 2019 The experiment, on 48 miles of track, could shape the future of the railroad industry, which is still profitable but facing demands for speedier deliveries. — Katherine Dunn, Fortune, "Boeing’s 737 Max Grounding Grinds On: CEO Daily," 29 July 2019 An experiment that will attempt to print biological tissues in space. — Chabeli Herrera, orlandosentinel.com, "SpaceX plans to launch 5,000 pounds of cargo to ISS tonight. But storms may push it to August," 24 July 2019 In Judge Alm’s experiment, the probationer, prosecutor, public offender, and probation officer pre-committed to a system of frequent urinalysis, for which a positive or missed test would result in an immediate but brief stay in jail. — Gabriel Rossman, National Review, "Mark Kleiman Was the Nation’s Greatest Thinker on Drug Policy," 23 July 2019 In addition to deploying a satellite on his second mission, Brown and the crew conducted numerous experiments, including growing protein crystals and studying aspects of weightlessness. — Casey Smith, Indianapolis Star, "Meet these 12 astronauts — each from Indiana," 20 July 2019 Bold experiments The initiatives that Cox championed are so well mapped at this point that only a major lack of money or a big change in policy could derail them. — John Gallagher, Detroit Free Press, "Maurice Cox, head of Detroit's planning efforts, resigning as of September," 19 July 2019 And so did the viability of the Revolution’s political experiment and the Founders’ republican vision. — Drew Gilpin Faust, The Atlantic, "Race, History, and Memories of a Virginia Girlhood," 18 July 2019 The experiments, and von Braun’s leadership of the group, piqued the interest of the German army. — Alejandro De La Garza, Time, "How Historians Are Reckoning With the Former Nazi Who Launched America's Space Program," 18 July 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
As the platform continues to expand, its recent moves, from acquiring an array of companies to experimenting with developers to design new inventory for short-term rentals, all appear geared toward frequent and business travelers. — Patrick Sisson, Curbed, "Airbnb bets big on business travelers," 13 Aug. 2019 The production was exemplary of the concept musical format Mr. Prince was known for experimenting with: the idea of weaving a theme through a show’s elements rather than solely relying on the plot to tell the story. — Nancy Coleman, New York Times, "‘Cabaret,’ ‘Phantom of the Opera’ and More: Hal Prince’s Hits Transformed Broadway," 31 July 2019 In an email to Fortune, Match Group, Tinder's owner, chalked up the change to experimenting. — Xavier Harding, Fortune, "First Fortnite, Now Tinder: How Android’s Biggest Apps Are Giving Google’s Revenue Scheme the Runaround," 22 July 2019 By experimenting with how objects are used, players can come up with interesting combinations. — Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, "Review: ‘Super Mario Maker 2’ gives aspiring game designers a richer canvas," 5 July 2019 Up until then, big multinational companies had been forced to hold back from experimenting with cannabidiol, or CBD—a non-psychoactive ingredient of marijuana that’s become trendy for its claimed health benefits. — Shafin Diamond Tejani, Quartz, "What Mark Twain can teach us about the weed industry," 29 June 2019 Oppo has a history of experimenting with how to make phones more seamless and closer to that pane of glass vision. — Shannon Liao, CNN, "This Chinese smartphone company found a creative place to put the selfie camera," 26 June 2019 Facebook is in the process of experimenting with how to address health misinformation beyond vaccines. — Abby Ohlheiser, Washington Post, "They turn to Facebook and YouTube to find a cure for cancer — and get sucked into a world of bogus medicine," 25 June 2019 Kylie Jenner regularly switches up her hair, and has always been known for experimenting with bright and surprising hair colors. — Amy Mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "Kylie Jenner Debuts Icy Blue Hair for New Year's Eve, Along with $50,570 Earrings," 31 Dec. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'experiment.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for experiment
experiment
noun
English Language Learners Definition of experiment
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a scientific test in which you perform a series of actions and carefully observe their effects in order to learn about something
: something that is done as a test : something that you do to see how well or how badly it works
experiment
verb
English Language Learners Definition of experiment (Entry 2 of 2)
: to do a scientific test in which you perform a series of actions and carefully observe their effects