experiment

See also: Experiment

English

Etymology

From Middle English experiment, from Old French esperiment (French expérience), from Latin experimentum (“experience, attempt, experiment”), from experior (“to experience, to attempt”), itself from ex + *perior, in turn from Proto-Indo-European *per-.

Pronunciation

Noun

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ɪ.mənt/, /ɛkˈspɛɹ.ɪ.mənt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/, /ɪkˈspɪɹ.ə.mənt/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Hyphenation: ex‧per‧i‧ment

Verb

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ɪ.mɛnt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mɛnt/

Noun

experiment (plural experiments)

1. A test under controlled conditions made to either demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried.

   conduct an experiment

   carry out some experiments

   perform a scientific experiment

   • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Laboratory”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 327:

     From her childhood she had been accustomed to watch, and often to aid, in her uncle's chemical experiments; she was, therefore, not at a loss, as a complete novice in the science would have been.

   • 2019, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     South Korean officials announced last month that an experiment to create artificial rain did not provide the desired results.

2. (obsolete) Experience, practical familiarity with something.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     Pilot [...] Vpon his card and compas firmes his eye,
     The maisters of his long experiment,
     And to them does the steddy helme apply [...].

Hyponyms

• blue bottle experiment
• control experiment
• double-slit experiment
• factorial experiment
• forbidden experiment
• ganzfeld experiment
• gedanken experiment
• Hughes-Drever experiment
• Kennedy-Thorndike experiment
• Michelson-Morley experiment
• Milgram experiment
• noble experiment
• science experiment
• Stern-Gerlach experiment
• thought experiment
• Valsalvian experiment
• Wizard of Oz experiment

Derived terms

• experimental
• experimentarian
• experimentary
• experimentation
• experimentee
• experimentise
• experimentist
• experimentize
• experimentwise
• interexperiment
• intraexperiment
• multiexperiment
• preexperiment
• sexperiment
• subexperiment

Translations

test under controlled conditions

• Albanian: eksperiment (sq) m
• Arabic: تَجْرِبَة f (tajriba), اِخْتِبَار (ar) m (iḵtibār)
• Armenian: փորձ (hy) (pʻorj), փորձարկում (hy) (pʻorjarkum)
• Azerbaijani: təcrübə (az), eksperiment
• Bashkir: тәжрибә (təjribə)
• Belarusian: эксперыме́нт m (ekspjerymjént), экспэрымэ́нт m (eksperymént), до́след m (dósljed), во́пыт (be) m (vópyt), про́ба f (próba)
• Bengali: পরীক্ষা (bn) (porikkha)
• Bulgarian: о́пит (bg) m (ópit), експериме́нт (bg) m (eksperimént)
• Burmese: အစမ်း (my) (a.cam:), အစမ်းအသပ် (my) (a.cam:a.sap)
• Catalan: experiment (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 實驗 / 实验 (sat⁶ jim⁶)

  Mandarin: 實驗 / 实验 (zh) (shíyàn)

• Czech: pokus (cs) m, experiment (cs) m
• Danish: eksperiment n, forsøg n
• Dutch: experiment (nl) n, proef (nl) f
• Esperanto: eksperimento
• Estonian: eksperiment
• Finnish: (tieteellinen) koe
• French: expérience (fr) f
• Galician: experimento (gl) m
• Georgian: ექსპერიმენტი (eksṗerimenṭi)
• German: Experiment (de) n, Versuch (de) m
• Greek: πείραμα (el) n (peírama)

  Ancient: πεῖρα f (peîra)

• Hebrew: ניסוי / נִסּוּי m (nisúi)
• Hindi: प्रयोग (hi) m (prayog), तजुर्बा m (tajurbā), परीक्षा (hi) f (parīkṣā)
• Hungarian: kísérlet (hu), próba (hu)
• Icelandic: tilraun (is) f
• Irish: tástáil f, turgnamh m
• Italian: esperimento (it) m
• Japanese: 実験 (ja) (じっけん, jikken)
• Kazakh: тәжірибе (täjıribe), эксперимент (éksperiment)
• Khmer: បរីក្សា (paʼreksaa), ពិសោធន៍ (km) (pisaot)
• Korean: 실험(實驗) (ko) (silheom)
• Kyrgyz: тажрыйба (ky) (tajrıyba), эксперимент (ky) (eksperiment)
• Lao: ການທົດລອງ (lo) (kān thot lǭng)
• Latin: experīmentum n, perīculum (la) n
• Latvian: eksperiments m, mēģinājums m
• Lithuanian: eksperimentas m
• Macedonian: опит m (opit), експериме́нт m (eksperimént), оглед m (ogled)
• Malay: uji kaji (ms), eksperimen (ms)
• Maori: whakamātauranga, whakamātau
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: eksperiment (no) n, forsøk (no) n

• Occitan: experiment (oc) m
• Pashto: آزمايش m (āzmāyeš), تجربه (ps) f (tajreba)
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: آزمایِش (fa) (âzmâyeš), تَجْرُبِه (fa) (tajrobe), تَجْرِبِه (fa) (tajrebe)

• Plautdietsch: Proow f
• Polish: eksperyment (pl) m inan, doświadczenie (pl) n, próba (pl) f
• Portuguese: experimento (pt) m (Brazil), experiência (pt) f (Portugal)
• Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi: ਪਰੀਖਿਆ f (parīkhiā)

• Romanian: experiment (ro) n
• Russian: экспериме́нт (ru) m (eksperimént), о́пыт (ru) m (ópyt), про́ба (ru) f (próba)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: експерѝмент m, о̀пит m

  Roman: eksperìment (sh) m, òpit (sh) m, pokus (sh) m

• Slovak: pokus m, experiment (sk) m
• Slovene: poskus (sl) m, eksperiment m
• Spanish: experimento (es) m
• Swahili: jaribio (sw)
• Swedish: experiment (sv) n, försök (sv) n
• Tagalog: tilaw, eksperimento (tl)
• Tajik: озмоиш (tg) (ozmoyiš), таҷриба (tg) (tajriba), таҷруба (tajruba)
• Tatar: тәҗрибә (tt) (täcribä), эксперимент (eksperiment)
• Telugu: ప్రయోగము (te) (prayōgamu)
• Thai: การทดลอง (th) (gaan-tót-lɔɔng)
• Turkish: deney (tr) (n), tecrübe (tr), deneme (tr)
• Turkmen: eksperiment, tejribe
• Ukrainian: експериме́нт m (eksperymént), до́слід (uk) m (dóslid), до́свід (uk) m (dósvid), спро́ба f (spróba)
• Urdu: تَجْرِبَہ m (tajriba)
• Uyghur: تەجرىبە (tejribe)
• Uzbek: eksperiment (uz), tajriba (uz)
• Vietnamese: thí nghiệm (vi)
• Welsh: arbrawf m
• Yiddish: עקספּערימענט (eksperiment)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} eksperimen (id), ^{(please verify)} percobaan (id)
• Lithuanian: ^{(please verify)} bandymas m

Verb

experiment (third-person singular simple present experiments, present participle experimenting, simple past and past participle experimented)

1. (intransitive) To conduct an experiment.

   We're going to experiment on rats.

   • 1951 October, “Models Assist Rolling Stock Design”, in Railway Magazine, page 647:

     As well as demonstrating operating facilities, full-size car body models are used for experimenting with new types of interior finish, systems of lighting, positioning of route diagrams and advertisements, and the best form of windscreens at doorways, and the height and location of handgrips and handrails.

   • 1978 August 19, David Brill, “California Here I Come!”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 5, page 10:

     Bob is a shameless tourist: Coit Tower, Fisherman's Wharf, Twin Peaks, ad infinitum. I think walking the streets with a map in hand looks dumb; experimenting is much more fun.

2. (transitive, obsolete) To experience; to feel; to perceive; to detect.
   • 1662 Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (Dialogue 2):

     The Earth, the which may have carried us about perpetually ... without our being ever able to experiment its rest.

3. (transitive, obsolete) To test or ascertain by experiment; to try out; to make an experiment on.
   • 1481, The Mirrour of the World, William Caxton, 1.5.22:

     Til they had experimented whiche was trewe, and who knewe most.

Derived terms

• experimenter
• unexperimented

Translations

to conduct an experiment

• Arabic: جَرَّبَ (ar) (jarraba)
• Armenian: փորձարկել (hy) (pʻorjarkel)
• Belarusian: эксперыментава́ць impf (ekspjerymjentavácʹ)
• Bulgarian: експерименти́рам impf or pf (eksperimentíram)
• Catalan: experimentar (ca), fer experiment
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 實驗 / 实验 (zh) (shíyàn)

• Czech: experimentovat (cs) impf
• Danish: eksperimentere
• Dutch: experimenteren (nl)
• Esperanto: eksperimenti
• Estonian: eksperimenteerima
• Finnish: kokeilla (fi), tehdä koe
• French: expérimenter (fr)
• German: experimentieren (de)
• Greek: πειραματίζομαι (el) (peiramatízomai)
• Hungarian: kísérletezik (hu)
• Italian: fare esperimento
• Japanese: 実験する (ja) (じっけんする, jikken suru)
• Khiamniungan Naga: tûalū
• Khmer: ពិសោធ (km) (pisaot)
• Korean: 실험하다 (ko) (silheomhada)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: ezmûn (ku)

• Latvian: eksperimentēt
• Macedonian: експерименти́ра impf or pf (eksperimentíra)
• Malay: menguji kaji
• Maori: whakamātau
• Polish: eksperymentować (pl) impf, przeprowadzać doświadczenie impf
• Portuguese: experimentar (pt)
• Quechua: yañay
• Russian: эксперименти́ровать (ru) impf (eksperimentírovatʹ), производи́ть о́пыт impf (proizvodítʹ ópyt), произвести́ о́пыт pf (proizvestí ópyt), ста́вить о́пыт impf (stávitʹ ópyt), поста́вить о́пыт pf (postávitʹ ópyt)
• Spanish: experimentar (es)
• Swahili: -jaribu (sw)
• Swedish: experimentera (sv)
• Thai: ทดลอง (th) (tót-lɔɔng)
• Ukrainian: експериментува́ти impf (eksperymentuváty)

to try out

• Esperanto: provi

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} eksperimen (id)
• Lithuanian: ^{(please verify)} eksperimentuoti

References

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “experiment”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin experīmentum. First attested in 1460.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [əks.pə.ɾiˈmen]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [əks.pə.ɾiˈment]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [eks.pe.ɾiˈment]

Noun

experiment m (plural experiments)

1. experiment

Derived terms

• experimental
• experimentar

Further reading

• “experiment”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April
• “experiment” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “experiment” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin experīmentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛkspɛrɪmɛnt]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

experiment m inan

1. experiment

   Synonym: pokus

   provést experiment ― to perform an experiment

Declension

Declension of experiment (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	experiment	experimenty
genitive	experimentu	experimentů
dative	experimentu	experimentům
accusative	experiment	experimenty
vocative	experimente	experimenty
locative	experimentu	experimentech
instrumental	experimentem	experimenty

Related terms

• experimentální
• experimentovat

Further reading

• “experiment”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “experiment”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “experiment”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch experiment, from Old French experiment, from Latin experimentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɛks.peː.riˈmɛnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ex‧pe‧ri‧ment
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

Noun

experiment n (plural experimenten, diminutive experimentje n)

1. experiment

   Synonyms: proef, test

Related terms

• experimentatie
• experimenteel
• experimenteren

Descendants

• → Indonesian: eksperimen

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin experīmentum.

Noun

experiment m (plural experiments)

1. experiment

Related terms

• experimentar

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin experimentum.

Noun

experiment n (plural experimente)

1. experiment

Declension

Declension of experiment

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	experiment	experimentul		experimente	experimentele
genitive-dative	experiment	experimentului		experimente	experimentelor
vocative	experimentule			experimentelor

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin experīmentum, attested from 1682.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛksp(ɛ)rɪˈmɛnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

experiment n

1. experiment

Declension

Declension of experiment

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	experiment	experiments
	definite	experimentet	experimentets
plural	indefinite	experiment	experiments
	definite	experimenten	experimentens

Related terms

• experimentell

References

• experiment in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• experiment in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)