exploration
nounUS /ˌɛkspləˈɹeɪʃən/
Etymology From Middle French exploration, from Latin exploratio. Morphologically explore + -ation.
1
The process of exploring.
- By this time, largely inspired by The Railway Magazine, I had begun to spread my wings, and had started on a long career of railway exploration.1957 July 23, M. D. Greville, “A Diamond Jubilee of Railway Memories”, in Railway Magazine, page 459:
2
The process of penetrating, or ranging over for purposes of (especially geographical) discovery.
- The exploration of unknown areas was often the precursor to colonization.
3
The (pre-)mining process of finding and determining commercially viable ore deposits (after prospecting), also called mineral exploration.
4
Medicine, Sciences A physical examination of a patient.
- Derived terms
- explorational, explorationist, reexploration, sexploration, space exploration, urban exploration
- Related terms
- explorative, exploratory, explorer