Link Centre Dictionary

investigate

in·ves·ti·gate

UK/ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪt/ US/ɪnˈvɛs.tɪ.ɡeɪ̯t/ common

verb

1.
2.

conduct an inquiry or investigation of

  • “The district attorney”
  • “;”

Origin

Recorded since circa 1510, a back-formation from investigation on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix), from Latin investīgātiō (“a searching into”), from investīgātus, the perfect passive participle of investīgō, equivalent to in- + vestigate. Displaced native Old English undersēċan (literally “to search under or between”).

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.