investigate

English

Etymology

Recorded since circa 1510, a Back-formation from investigation., from Latin investīgātiō (“a searching into”), from investīgātus, the past participle of investigare, equivalent to in- +‎ vestigate.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɪn.ˈves.tɪ.ɡeɪ̯t]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Verb

1. (transitive) To inquire into or study in order to ascertain facts or information.

   to investigate the causes of natural phenomena

2. (transitive) To examine, look into, or scrutinize in order to discover something hidden or secret.

   to investigate an unsolved murder

3. (intransitive) To conduct an inquiry or examination.
   • 1903, Jack London, "The Shadow and the Flash,"

     "Why don't you investigate?" he demanded. And investigate I did.

Synonyms

• underseek

Related terms

Terms related to "investigate"

• investigability
• investigable
• investigation
• investigational

• investigative
• investigator
• investigatory

Translations

to inquire into, study

• Bulgarian: изследвам (bg) (izsledvam), проучвам (bg) (proučvam)
• Catalan: investigar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 調查／调查 (zh) (diàochá), 调查 (zh) (diàochá)

• Czech: zkoumat (cs)
• Dutch: onderzoeken (nl), bekijken (nl), bestuderen (nl), bestuderen (nl)
• Finnish: tutkia (fi)
• French: étudier (fr)
• German: untersuchen (de), erforschen (de), recherchieren (de)
• Indonesian: mengkaji (id), menyelidiki (id)
• Italian: investigare (it)
• Japanese: 調べる (ja) (しらべる, shiraberu), 調査する (ja) (ちょうさする, chōsa suru)
• Korean: 조사하다 (ko) (josahada)
• Latin: aspicio (la), investigo, indago, vestigo
• Malay: siasat
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: whakatewhatewha, tūhura, mātai, mātaki, rangahau, tūhura, uiui (by questioning), whakatewhatewha, ārohi
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: undersøke

• Polish: prowadzić dochodzenie
• Portuguese: investigar (pt)
• Romanian: investiga (ro)
• Russian: иссле́довать (ru) impf or pf (isslédovatʹ), рассле́довать (ru) impf or pf (rasslédovatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: rannsaich
• Spanish: investigar (es), pesquisar (es), indagar (es)
• Swahili: -chunguza (sw)
• Swedish: undersöka (sv)
• Telugu: పరిశీలించు (te) (pariśīliñcu) (pariSeelinchu)
• Walloon: studyî (wa)

to examine

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Basque: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: разследвам (bg) (razsledvam)
• Catalan: investigar (ca)
• Czech: pátrat (cs)
• Dutch: onderzoeken (nl), een onderzoek instellen, uitzoeken (nl)
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: tutkia (fi)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: untersuchen (de)
• Indonesian: menyelidiki (id)
• Italian: investigare (it)
• Japanese: 調べる (ja) (しらべる, shiraberu), 検査する (ja) (けんさする, kensa suru)
• Khmer: ពិរុទ្ឋ (pi’rut)
• Latin: aspicio (la), inquīrō (la)
• Malay: menyelidiki, mengkaji
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: whakatewhatewha, tūhura
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ettersøke

• Polish: badać (pl)
• Portuguese: investigar (pt), examinar (pt)
• Russian: рассле́довать (ru) impf or pf (rasslédovatʹ), изуча́ть (ru) impf (izučátʹ), изучи́ть (ru) pf (izučítʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: rannsaich
• Spanish: examinar (es), investigar (es), indagar (es)
• Swahili: -chunguza (sw)
• Swedish: undersöka (sv), utreda (sv)
• Telugu: పరిశీలించు (te) (pariśīliñcu) (pariSeelinchu)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

to conduct an inquiry or examination

• Bulgarian: разследвам (bg) (razsledvam)
• Catalan: investigar (ca)
• Czech: vyšetřovat (cs)
• Dutch: een onderzoek voeren
• Finnish: tutkia (fi), selvittää (fi)
• French: enquêter (fr)
• Italian: investigare (it)
• Latin: aspicio (la)
• Malay: mengkaji
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Navajo: naʼałkaah
• Portuguese: investigar (pt)
• Russian: рассле́довать (ru) impf or pf (rasslédovatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: rannsaich
• Spanish: pesquisar (es), investigar (es)
• Swahili: -chunguza (sw)
• Swedish: utreda (sv)
• Walloon: inketer

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

• French: ^{(please verify)} rechercher (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 조사하다 (ko) (josahada)

Further reading

• “investigate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “investigate”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “investigate”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

---

Italian

Verb

investigate

1. second-person plural present indicative of investigare
2. second-person plural imperative of investigare
3. feminine plural of investigato

---

Latin

Verb

(deprecated template usage) investīgāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of investīgō