# test

Pronunciation: say "TEST" /tɛst/

## Verb

1. To try out or examine something, often under real or extreme conditions, to find out how well it works, whether it is genuine, or whether it meets a standard.
   - Simple: To try something out or check it carefully to see if it works well, is safe, or is real.
   - _Engineers test each design against strict safety standards._
   - _We need to test whether the theory holds up under real conditions._
6. To challenge something or someone by putting them under strain.
   - Simple: To put a lot of strain on something or someone.
   - _Sudden setbacks test a team's ability to stay focused._
   - _The crisis tested the new manager's patience to the limit._
8. To be shown by examination to have a particular quality or condition.
   - Simple: To be found to be a certain way after being checked.
   - _Several samples test negative when the contamination is low._
   - _She tested positive for the antibody after the second round._
9. To give or assign an examination to someone, often during the academic term, to measure their knowledge.
   - Simple: To give a student questions to find out what they have learned.
   - _Instructors test their students at the midpoint of each semester._
   - _The professor tested the class on the entire reading list._
10. To examine or try a substance, as by using a chemical reagent.
   - Simple: To check a substance to find out what is in it or what it is like, often by using chemicals.
   - _Chemists test the solution with litmus to check its acidity._
   - _The lab tested the sample for traces of arsenic._
12. To challenge another person to a physical fight. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To dare another person to fight you, often to seem tough.
   - _He tested the bouncer, squaring up like he wanted a brawl._
   - _When the new guy squared up in the yard and asked if anyone wanted to test him, nobody moved._
16. To refine gold, silver, or other precious metal by melting it in a cupel; to subject it to cupellation.
   - Simple: To make gold or silver pure by melting it in a special dish.

## Noun

2. A set of questions or tasks used to measure a person's knowledge or ability, such as a school exam, a driving test or an IQ test.
   - Simple: Questions or tasks that check what someone knows or can do, such as a school test, driving test or IQ test.
   - _The professor scheduled the first test for the third week of classes._
   - _Students complained that the test covered material from outside the syllabus._
3. A procedure or standard by which a fact is established, something is measured, or a requirement is judged to be met or not.
   - Simple: A way or rule used to find out a fact, measure something, or decide if something is good enough.
   - _The court applied a three-part test to decide whether the search was reasonable._
   - _The only real test of a recipe is whether people ask for seconds._
4. An examination of a product, piece of equipment, or system under normal or extreme conditions to assess its durability or similar qualities.
   - Simple: A check of a product, machine or system, in normal or tough conditions, to see how well it works or lasts.
   - _Engineers put the new battery through a test under freezing conditions to check its durability._
   - _Each prototype undergoes a rigorous test before it reaches the market._
5. A medical examination of a person, or of a blood, urine or other sample, carried out to check their health or detect a disease or substance.
   - Simple: A medical check of a person or their blood or urine, to learn about their health or find a disease or drug.
   - _Her flu test came back negative, but she stayed home anyway._
   - _Athletes face random drug tests throughout the season._
7. A challenge or difficult situation that reveals someone's strength, character, or ability.
   - Simple: A hard situation that shows how strong or able someone is.
   - _The crisis became a test of the leader's resolve._
   - _Living abroad alone proved a genuine test of his independence._
11. A top-level international match between national teams, especially in cricket, where it is played over up to five days, or in rugby.
   - Simple: A top international game between national teams, especially a cricket game lasting several days, or a rugby game.
   - _Rain interrupted play on the third day of the Test._
   - _The bowler took ten wickets in the Test._
13. Clipping of testosterone: the male sex hormone, especially when taken as a drug to build muscle or aid recovery. *(slang)* — Clipping of testosterone.
   - Simple: Clipping of testosterone: a casual name for the hormone, often taken to build muscle.
   - _Bodybuilders often stack test with other compounds during a bulking cycle._
   - _He started a course of test to speed his recovery between workouts._
14. In biology, a hard outer covering, such as the coat of a seed or the shell of a sea urchin.
   - Simple: In biology, a hard outer cover, like the coat of a seed or the shell of a sea urchin.
   - _Botanists examined the seed's test under magnification to study its texture._
   - _Under the microscope, each foram's chalky test looked like a tiny snail shell._
15. A cupel or small hearth in which precious metals are melted to test and refine them.
   - Simple: A small dish used to melt gold or silver and make it pure.

## Noun

17. The faculty of judgment; the ability to distinguish or discriminate. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The power to judge well and tell good from bad.
18. A witness; one who gives testimony or attests to something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A person who saw something and tells others what happened.

## Verb

19. To attest a document legally and add its date. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To sign a paper as a witness and write the date on it.
20. To draw up a will or testament, setting out one's last wishes. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make a will that says who gets your things after you die.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–12, 14–17** — Latin testum ("an earthen pot"), perhaps ultimately from a root meaning "dry land" (compare terra, thirst), gave Old French test, teste, an earthen vessel and especially one used for trying metals, which became Middle English test, teste. The meaning of an examination is a metaphor from metalwork: a teacher tries students' knowledge the way a metalworker tries gold. The biological sense of a hard outer covering comes directly from the related Latin testa ("earthenware, shell").
**Meanings 18–20** — Latin testis ("one who attests, a witness") and Old French teste, test lie behind Middle English teste.

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