Meaning & use
a quiz
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Meanings
nouncountableAmerican
A short test or set of questions used to check what someone knows.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a quiz', 'two quizzes', 'the quiz was easy'.
Patterns
- take a quiz
- give a quiz
- a quiz on something
- a pop quiz
We have a quiz on irregular verbs in class tomorrow.
The teacher gave a short quiz to see if we had done the reading.
I got nine out of ten on the history quiz.
nouncountableBritish
A game or competition in which people try to answer questions correctly.
Grammar: Countable; often used in compounds like 'quiz show' or 'pub quiz'.
Patterns
- enter a quiz
- win a quiz
- a quiz show
- a pub quiz
Our team won the pub quiz last night.
She watches a quiz show every evening after dinner.
The quiz had questions about music, history, and science.
verbtransitive
To ask someone questions in order to test their knowledge or get information.
Grammar: Takes an object: quiz the students, quiz someone about something.
Patterns
- quiz someone
- quiz someone about something
- quiz someone on something
The police quizzed him about his movements that night.
My mother quizzed me on my plans for the summer.
The teacher quizzes us every Friday.
Word forms
| plural | quizzes |
|---|---|
| third person singular | quizzes |
| past tense | quizzed |
| past participle | quizzed |
| -ing form | quizzing |
Common combinations
- take a quiz
- We have to take a quiz at the end of each unit.
- a quiz show
- My grandparents love watching quiz shows on TV.
- a pop quiz
- The teacher surprised us with a pop quiz.
- a quiz on something
- There will be a quiz on chapter five next week.
- win a quiz
- Our team won the quiz by one point.
Synonyms and how they differ
- test
- A test is usually longer and more formal than a quiz, and it often affects your grade.
- exam
- An exam is a major, formal test, often at the end of a course; a quiz is much shorter and less serious.
- questionnaire
- A questionnaire is a written set of questions used to collect information, not to test knowledge.
Word family
- quizzer noun
- A person who takes part in quizzes or asks a lot of questions.
- quizzical adjective
- Showing slight confusion or amusement, as if asking a silent question.
Commonly confused: a quiz or quizzes?
a quiz vs quizzes
'Quizzes' is the plural of 'quiz' or the third-person singular of the verb; 'a quiz' is singular.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
The usual preposition after 'a quiz' is 'on' when it means a test about a subject. 'Of' and 'for' do not fit this meaning, and option C is missing a preposition.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a quiz”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.