exam

Formsexams, examing, examed

1. 1
   nouncolloquialabbreviationclipping

   Clipping of examination.

   He spent all weekend studying for the chemistry exam.

   The professor graded the exams over the holiday break.

   Note

   A clipped noun that takes over the "test" meaning of examination more readily than its other meanings. Students take an exam, while the broader act of examining usually keeps the full word. It counts and pluralizes like any noun: Peter Wilby's 2013 Guardian Weekly piece on Finnish schools imagines "no exams until the age of 18". It also settles comfortably into compounds such as exam hall and exam board.

2. 2
   verbtransitive

   To inspect or study something closely in order to learn about its condition or details.

   Geologists exam each rock sample for traces of rare minerals.

   The technician exams the device to find the source of the fault.

   Similarinspect, study, check, scrutinize, analyze

   Note

   Laboratory shorthand rather than everyday English, it turns up in scientific write-ups where tissue sections are stained with lead citrate "and then examed" under an electron microscope. The inflections normally keep a single m (exams, examing, examed), and the doubled exammed and examming are rare. Outside such technical writing, the full examine remains the expected verb, even though the clipped noun is everyday.

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