exploratory

adjective
ex·​plor·​ato·​ry | \ ik-ˈsplȯr-ə-ˌtȯr-ē How to pronounce exploratory (audio) \

Definition of exploratory

: of, relating to, or being exploration exploratory surgery exploratory drilling for oil

Examples of exploratory in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The senator has spent 15 days working the crowds in New Hampshire since announcing her exploratory bid in January. Caitlin Conant, CBS News, "2020 Daily Trail Markers: Dems split on calling Trump a white supremacist," 9 Aug. 2019 The exploratory committee raised $200,000 in two weeks. Justin Wingerter, The Denver Post, "Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold is not running for U.S. Senate," 9 Aug. 2019 Howard Schultz mentions his family’s love of dogs in his bio, but hasn’t during his exploratory presidential bid, while Mike Bloomberg doesn’t really seem to care for them at all. Heather Timmons, Quartz, "Meet the dogs of the 2020 presidential race," 1 July 2019 The vacant seat will remain open until an exploratory committee completes its recommendation on whether the trust will become a C-corporation. Kara Carlson, Dallas News, "Texas Pacific Land Trust settles summerlong battle with dissatisfied investors," 31 July 2019 O’Malley had announced an exploratory campaign roughly a year ago and officially kicked off his campaign in October. Hunter Woodall, kansascity, "Former GOP lawmaker Ed O'Malley drops out of Kansas governor's race | The Kansas City Star," 1 Feb. 2018 In the first quarter of 2019, Buttigieg raised more than $7 million after launching an exploratory committee on Jan. 23, 2019. Sarah Ewall-wice, CBS News, "Pete Buttigieg raises over $24 million in second quarter of fundraising," 1 July 2019 The specter of a new 6th district map prompted state Del. Neil C. Parrott (R-Hagerstown) to form an exploratory committee and begin raising money to run for the seat in 2020. Jenna Portnoy, Washington Post, "Here’s what the Supreme Court ruling on gerrymandering means for Maryland," 27 June 2019 Countries, private companies, universities, nonprofits and individuals are welcome to send people, robots, and all manner of scientific, exploratory and commercial ventures to take part. Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, "Come One, Come All: Building a Moon Village," 10 July 2019

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

See More

First Known Use of exploratory

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for exploratory

exploratory

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of exploratory

: done or created to find something or to learn more about something

exploratory

adjective
ex·​plor·​ato·​ry | \ ik-ˈsplōr-ə-ˌtōr-ē, -ˈsplȯr-, -ˌtȯr- How to pronounce exploratory (audio) \

Medical Definition of exploratory

: of, relating to, or being exploration exploratory surgery

Keep scrolling for more