exploration

/ˈɛkspləˌreɪʃən/

/ɛksplɔˈreɪʃən/

Other forms: explorations

An exploration is a trip, but it's more than just a vacation — it's going somewhere to examine and discover new things.

Exploration is what you do when you want to learn more about what's out there in the big wide world. Guys like Christopher Columbus were experts in exploration. Some astronauts devote their lives to the exploration of space, looking for new planets. But you don't have to go any farther than your local library to do your own exploration — when you study or research something, you could say you're doing an exploration of it.

Definitions of exploration

1. noun

   travel for the purpose of discovery
   synonyms: geographic expedition

   type of:

   expedition

   a journey organized for a particular purpose
2. noun

   a careful systematic search
   types:

   probe

   an exploratory action or expedition

   type of:

   hunt, hunting, search

   the activity of looking thoroughly in order to find something or someone
3. noun

   a systematic consideration
   “he called for a careful exploration of the consequences”

   type of:

   consideration

   the process of giving careful thought to something