INSPECT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does inspect mean? 

• INSPECT (verb)
  The verb INSPECT has 3 senses:

1. look over carefully

2. come to see in an official or professional capacity

3. examine carefully for accuracy with the intent of verification

  Familiarity information: INSPECT used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INSPECT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they inspect    ... he / she / it inspects   
Past simple: inspected   
Past participle: inspected   
-ing form: inspecting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Look over carefully

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Context example:

Please inspect your father's will carefully

Hypernyms (to "inspect" is one way to...):

examine; see (observe, check out, and look over carefully or inspect)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "inspect"):

go over; review; survey (hold a review (of troops))

perambulate (make an official inspection on foot of (the bounds of a property))

case (look over, usually with the intention to rob)

vet (examine carefully)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The customs agents inspect the bags for drugs

Sense 2

Meaning:

Come to see in an official or professional capacity

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

inspect; visit

Context example:

The grant administrator visited the laboratory

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

inspection (a formal or official examination)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Examine carefully for accuracy with the intent of verification

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

audit; inspect; scrutinise; scrutinize

Context example:

audit accounts and tax returns

Hypernyms (to "inspect" is one way to...):

analyse; analyze; canvass; examine; study (consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

inspector (an investigator who observes carefully)

 Context examples 

Can you accept delivery during the retrograde? Yes, but be home to inspect it.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Marian had called on Martin in his room a short time before to announce her engagement, during which visit she had playfully inspected Martin's palm and told his fortune.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

I should want to inspect the letters, of course.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The team had inspected around 7000 white dwarfs observed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and found one to be unlike any other.

(First Giant Planet around White Dwarf Found, ESO)

Previous missions have used heat to inspect rock for the presence of organic matter.

(Red Planet May Have Harbored Life in Past, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Then I have a legal right to inspect it.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The act of inspecting or verifying.

(Check, NCI Thesaurus)

With its solar panels their cleanest in years, NASA's decade-old Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is inspecting a section of crater-rim ridgeline chosen as a priority target due to evidence of a water-related mineral.

(Aluminum-Bearing Site on Mars Draws NASA Visitor, NASA)

In that case, Miss Stoper, I had best inspect a few more of your young ladies.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Then he took out the key, which was on the inside, and inspected that also.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)