Meaning & use
experiment
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A carefully planned test carried out to learn something or to check whether an idea is true.
Grammar: Countable: carry out an experiment. Often followed by on, with, or to show purpose.
Patterns
- conduct an experiment
- an experiment on something
- an experiment to do something
The class carried out an experiment to see how plants react to light.
Scientists repeated the experiment three times to confirm the result.
The experiment showed that the drug had no effect.
nouncountable
A first attempt at something new, done to see how well it works.
Grammar: Informal use, outside science: the shop's experiment with late opening.
Patterns
- an experiment in something
- an experiment with something
The city's bike-lane experiment was a success.
Moving the meeting to the morning was an experiment.
Her first attempt at baking bread was a messy experiment.
verbintransitive
To try out new ideas or methods to find out what works.
Grammar: No object; usually followed by with or on: experiment with new flavors.
Patterns
- experiment with something
- experiment on something
He likes to experiment with spices when he cooks.
Teachers are experimenting with shorter school days.
Researchers experiment on cells grown in a lab.
Word forms
| plural | experiments |
|---|---|
| third person singular | experiments |
| past tense | experimented |
| past participle | experimented |
| -ing form | experimenting |
Common combinations
- conduct an experiment
- Researchers conduct an experiment every spring.
- controlled experiment
- A controlled experiment compares two groups.
- run an experiment
- We ran an experiment to test the new design.
- laboratory experiment
- The laboratory experiment took six weeks.
- experiment with
- She likes to experiment with hairstyles.
Synonyms and how they differ
- test
- Test is broader and can be a quick check, while experiment suggests a planned process to learn something new.
- trial
- Trial is used for testing something, such as a drug, in real conditions, rather than finding a general fact.
- investigation
- Investigation is any careful search for facts and need not involve a controlled test.
- pilot
- A pilot is a small trial run of a project before a full launch, which is narrower than an experiment.
Word family
- experimental adjective
- based on or used in experiments, or new and untried
- experimentation noun
- the process of trying things out
- experimenter noun
- a person who carries out an experiment
- experimentally adverb
- by means of experiments
Commonly confused: experiment or experience? experiment or expert?
experiment vs experience
Experience means knowledge from doing something over time, while an experiment is a planned test. They are close in spelling and root.
experiment vs expert
An expert is a person with great skill, not a test.
Practice
Which sentence uses experiment as a verb correctly?
Choose one answer.
Experiment as a verb is followed by with (or on). About and at are wrong prepositions, and the verb does not take a direct object.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “experiment”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.