# query

Pronunciation: say "KWEER-ee" US /ˈkwɪ.ɹi/, UK /ˈkwɪə.ɹi/

## Noun

1. A question, especially one asking for information or raising a doubt about something.
   - Simple: A question, especially one you ask to get information or to check that something is right.
   - _The customer emailed a query regarding the missing shipment._
   - _Several queries about the new policy came in during the meeting._
2. A search request made up of one or more words, entered by typing or speech, that a search engine matches against web pages and other information.
   - Simple: A word or group of words you type or say into a search engine to find web pages or information.
   - _A vague query like "best phone" returns millions of results._
   - _More and more search queries are spoken to phones and smart speakers rather than typed._
4. A set of instructions passed to a database in order to retrieve information from it.
   - Simple: A set of instructions that asks a database for certain information.
   - _The analyst wrote a query to pull last month's sales figures._
   - _Complex queries can take several seconds to return results._
7. Short for query letter: a letter in which a writer pitches a book or article to a literary agent or editor, asking them to consider it. — Ellipsis of query letter.
   - Simple: Short for query letter: a short letter asking an agent or editor to consider a writer's book or article.
   - _The agent rejected her query within a day._
   - _A strong query can open doors with publishers._
9. The punctuation mark (?) used to show that a sentence is a question.
   - Simple: The punctuation mark (?) written at the end of a question.

## Verb

3. To ask someone a question; to request information about something.
   - Simple: To ask someone for an answer or for information about something.
   - _Reporters queried the official about the budget cuts._
   - _Customers often query the support team when an order goes missing._
5. To run a set of instructions against a database to retrieve the information wanted.
   - Simple: To ask a database for information by sending it instructions.
   - _The script queries the customer database every few minutes for new orders._
   - _Developers query the database to generate daily reports._
6. To call something into doubt; to challenge whether it is accurate or true.
   - Simple: To say that you are not sure something is right or true.
   - _The auditor queried several entries in the company's accounts._
   - _Readers may query the author's claims about the study._
8. To send out a query letter in order to pitch a book or article to an agent or editor.
   - Simple: To send a short letter to an agent or editor to pitch your writing.
   - _He queried for a year before landing representation._
   - _She planned to query once she had finished revising her novel._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To send a private, one-to-one message to another user on IRC.

## Origin

Latin quaerō ("to seek, look for, ask") has a form quaere, and an obsolete variant of it, quere, was anglicized to give this word. Spanish and Portuguese querer, French quérir, Italian chiedere, and Romanian cere are related.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/query (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).