Meaning & use
quiz
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Meanings
nouncountable
A short set of questions given to check knowledge, often in class or online.
Grammar: Say one quiz, two quizzes; use exam or test for longer, more formal assessment.
Patterns
- take a quiz
- a quiz on something
- give someone a quiz
The teacher gave us a five-minute quiz after the reading.
I finished the online quiz and saw my score immediately.
nouncountable
A game or competition in which people answer questions for fun, prizes, or points.
Grammar: Countable like sense 1, but the setting is entertainment rather than assessment.
Patterns
- a pub quiz
- a quiz show
- a quiz night
Our team won the pub quiz by two points.
She smiled when the quiz show host announced the final question.
verbtransitive
To ask someone a series of questions to learn information or test what they know.
Grammar: Takes an object: quiz a witness. Often followed by about or on: quiz her about costs.
Patterns
- quiz someone about something
- quiz someone on something
- be quizzed by someone
The reporter quizzed the coach about the injury.
Students were quizzed on the causes of the war.
Word forms
| plural | quizzes |
|---|---|
| third person singular | quizzes |
| past tense | quizzed |
| past participle | quizzed |
| -ing form | quizzing |
Common combinations
- pop quiz
- A pop quiz surprised the class on Monday morning.
- take a quiz
- We take a short quiz after each unit.
- pub quiz
- Their table won the pub quiz charity round.
- quiz show
- He recognized the answer from a quiz show.
- quiz night
- The café holds a quiz night every month.
- quiz someone about something
- The manager quizzed staff about the missing keys.
Synonyms and how they differ
- test
- A test can be short or long and may check skill, health, or knowledge; a quiz is usually shorter and lighter.
- exam
- An exam is a more formal and usually longer assessment than a quiz.
- questionnaire
- A questionnaire asks for opinions or facts, not a scored knowledge check like a quiz.
- interview
- An interview involves spoken questions for a job, news, or research, not a short knowledge contest.
Word family
- quizmaster noun
- A person who asks the questions in a quiz game or show.
- quizzical adjective
- Showing mild doubt, surprise, or amusement; related in origin but not a direct synonym.
- quizzically adverb
- In a questioning or slightly puzzled way.
Commonly confused: quiz or questionnaire? quiz or exam?
quiz vs questionnaire
A questionnaire is a written list of questions for opinions or information; a quiz usually has right or wrong answers.
quiz vs exam
An exam is longer and more formal; a quiz is shorter and often informal.
Practice
The teacher gave us a quick ___ on yesterday's vocabulary.
Choose one answer.
A quiz is a short knowledge check, so it fits a quick vocabulary review. A questionnaire collects opinions or facts rather than scoring answers, an interview is conversational, and an essay is written work.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “quiz”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.