inquiry

noun

Sayin-KWY-uh-ree/ɪnˈkwaɪ(ə)ɹi/UK/ɪnˈkwaɪəɹi/

Pluralinquiries

2 meanings of inquiry

Practice

1
nouncountable
The act of asking questions to find out information.
Like raising your hand in class to ask a question.
She made an inquiry at the front desk about the train times.
The shop gets many inquiries about its opening hours.
Similarquery, question, request
Oppositeanswer, reply
Note
2
nouncountable or uncountable
A careful search to find out the truth about something.
Like a detective looking for clues to solve a mystery.
The government launched an inquiry into the cause of the accident.
Years of patient inquiry led the team to a surprising discovery.
Similarinvestigation, probe, examination, review, research
Note

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Origin

It comes from a Latin word inquīrō, meaning to seek into something, made from in- ('into') and quaerō ('I seek'). It reached English through Old French.