Meaning & use
examiner
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
a person who sets, supervises or marks an exam, or who tests someone's ability or knowledge.
Grammar: Countable: an examiner, two examiners.
Patterns
- an examiner for something
- the examiner of something
The examiner collected the papers at exactly noon.
An external examiner reads every thesis in the department.
Our driving examiner asked me to park between two cars.
nouncountablebusiness
a person whose job is to inspect and check records, products or claims for accuracy or legality.
Grammar: Often part of a job title: bank examiner, patent examiner.
Patterns
- a patent examiner
- a bank examiner
A patent examiner reviewed the invention for six months.
The bank examiner checked the accounts for errors.
The medical examiner explained the cause of death to the family.
Word forms
| plural | examiners |
|---|
Common combinations
- external examiner
- The external examiner praised the quality of the essays.
- driving examiner
- The driving examiner told her to turn left at the lights.
- medical examiner
- The medical examiner filed her report on Monday.
- chief examiner
- The chief examiner explained the new marking scheme.
- patent examiner
- A patent examiner decides whether an invention is truly new.
Synonyms and how they differ
- assessor
- An assessor judges quality or value over time, whereas an examiner usually conducts a specific test.
- inspector
- An inspector checks places or products on site, while an examiner often checks papers or people.
- marker
- A marker, in British English, only grades finished papers and does not set or supervise the exam.
- tester
- Tester is broader and informal, applying to products as well as people.
Opposites
Word family
- examine verb
- to look at closely or test
- examination noun
- a formal test or close inspection
- exam noun
- short form of examination
- examinee noun
- the person being tested
- cross-examine verb
- to question closely in court
Commonly confused: examiner or examinee?
examiner vs examinee
The examiner sets or marks the test; the examinee is the person who takes it.
Practice
Who is the examiner in an oral language test?
Choose one answer.
The examiner listens to the speaker and judges performance. The student who speaks is the examinee.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “examiner”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.