investigation
in-ves-ti-GAY-shuhn/ɪnˌvɛs.tɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/
Pluralinvestigations
- 1The careful work of looking into something to find out the truth about it.
Like searching room by room to find out where a strange noise came from.
The police began an investigation into the missing money.
Her slow, careful investigation finally showed what had really happened.
UsageSay an investigation into something. Something the police are checking is under investigation.
Similarinquiry, probe, examination, research, study
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Origin
It came through Old French from the Latin word "investigatio." It can also be seen as "investigate" plus "-ion."
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The word came through Old French from Latin investigatio. en.wiktionary.org
- Investigate plus -ion is a morphological analysis; historically, investigate was back-formed from investigation. en.wiktionary.org