test

/tɛst/

/tɛst/

Other forms: tests; testing; tested

If your boss tells you not to test her patience, she means don't push her today, because she might just snap.

Surely you're familiar with vocabulary tests? In this case, someone is giving you difficult questions to see how much you know. Test more generally means "trial." If you test a soap on your skin, you use it on one small patch, to see if you'll have an allergic reaction. A drug test looks for the presence of drugs in your system. A difficult time in life is sometimes called "a test," because it's testing your strength to persevere.

Definitions of test

1. noun

   any standardized procedure for measuring sensitivity or memory or intelligence or aptitude or personality etc
   “the test was standardized on a large sample of students”

   synonyms: mental test, mental testing, psychometric test

   types:

   IQ test, intelligence test

   a psychometric test of intelligence

   personality test

   any test that is intended to assess personality

   sub-test

   one of a battery of related tests

   Stanford-Binet test

   revision of the Binet-Simon Scale

   Binet-Simon Scale

   the first intelligence test

   projective device, projective technique, projective test

   any personality test designed to yield information about someone's personality on the basis of their unrestricted response to ambiguous objects or situations

   personality assessment, personality inventory

   a questionnaire that is supposed to yield a description of a person's personality traits

   type of:

   mental measurement

   a generic term used to cover any application of measurement techniques to the quantification of mental functions
2. noun

   a set of questions or exercises evaluating skill or knowledge
   “when the test was stolen the professor had to make a new set of questions”

   synonyms: exam, examination

   types:

   bar exam, bar examination

   an examination conducted at regular intervals to determine whether a candidate is qualified to practice law in a given jurisdiction

   comp, comprehensive, comprehensive examination

   an intensive examination testing a student's proficiency in some special field of knowledge

   entrance exam, entrance examination

   examination to determine a candidate's preparation for a course of studies

   final, final exam, final examination

   an examination administered at the end of an academic term

   litmus test

   a test that relies on a single indicator

   midterm, midterm exam, midterm examination

   an examination administered in the middle of an academic term

   oral, oral exam, oral examination, viva, viva voce

   an examination conducted by spoken communication

   prelim, preliminary exam, preliminary examination

   an examination taken by graduate students to determine their fitness to continue

   quiz

   an examination consisting of a few short questions

   exam paper, examination paper, question sheet, test paper

   a written examination

   tripos

   final honors degree examinations at Cambridge University

   pop quiz

   a quiz given without prior warning

   type of:

   communicating, communication

   the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information
3. noun

   the act of undergoing testing
   “he survived the great test of battle”

   synonyms: trial

   type of:

   attempt, effort, endeavor, endeavour, try

   earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
4. noun

   the act of testing something
   synonyms: run, trial

   types:

   assay

   a quantitative or qualitative test of a substance (especially an ore or a drug) to determine its components; frequently used to test for the presence or concentration of infectious agents or antibodies etc.

   clinical test, clinical trial

   a rigorously controlled test of a new drug or a new invasive medical device on human subjects; in the United States it is conducted under the direction of the FDA before being made available for general clinical use

   double blind

   a test procedure in which the identity of those receiving the intervention is concealed from both the administrators and the subjects until after the test is completed; designed to reduce or eliminate bias in the results

   preclinical phase, preclinical test, preclinical trial

   a laboratory test of a new drug or a new invasive medical device on animal subjects; conducted to gather evidence justifying a clinical trial

   audition, tryout

   a test of the suitability of a performer

   field trial

   a test of young hunting dogs to determine their skill in pointing and retrieving

   fitting, try-on, trying on

   putting clothes on to see whether they fit

   MOT, MOT test, Ministry of Transportation test

   a compulsory annual test of older motor vehicles for safety and exhaust fumes

   pilot program, pilot project

   activity planned as a test or trial

   Snellen test

   a test of visual acuity using a Snellen chart

   ELISA, enzyme-linked-immunosorbent serologic assay

   an assay that relies on an enzymatic conversion reaction and is used to detect the presence of specific substances (such as enzymes or viruses or antibodies or bacteria)

   immunohistochemistry

   an assay that shows specific antigens in tissues by the use of markers that are either fluorescent dyes or enzymes (such as horseradish peroxidase)

   phase I, phase I clinical trial

   a clinical trial on a few persons to determine the safety of a new drug or invasive medical device; for drugs, dosage or toxicity limits should be obtained

   phase II, phase II clinical trial

   a clinical trial on more persons than in phase I; intended to evaluate the efficacy of a treatment for the condition it is intended to treat; possible side effects are monitored

   phase III, phase III clinical trial

   a large clinical trial of a treatment or drug that in phase I and phase II has been shown to be efficacious with tolerable side effects; after successful conclusion of these clinical trials it will receive formal approval from the FDA

   phase IV, phase IV clinical trial

   sometimes the FDA approves a drug for general use but requires the manufacturer to continue to monitor its effects; during this phase the drug may be tried on slightly different patient populations than those studied in earlier trials

   screen test

   a filmed audition of an actor or actress

   diagnostic assay, diagnostic test

   an assay conducted for diagnostic purposes

   bio-assay, bioassay

   appraisal of the biological activity of a substance by testing its effect on an organism and comparing the result with some agreed standard

   type of:

   attempt, effort, endeavor, endeavour, try

   earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
5. noun

   trying something to find out about it
   synonyms: trial, trial run, tryout

   types:

   field test, field trial

   a test of the performance of some new product under the conditions in which it will be used

   alpha test

   (computer science) a first test of an experimental product (such as computer software) carried out by the developer

   beta test

   (computer science) a second test of an experimental product (such as computer software) carried out by an outside organization

   road test

   a test to insure that a vehicle is roadworthy

   trial balloon

   a test of public opinion

   test drive

   test of the roadworthiness of a vehicle one is considering buying

   type of:

   experiment, experimentation

   the testing of an idea
6. verb

   examine someone's knowledge of something
   “The teacher tests us every week”

   synonyms: quiz

   type of:

   examine

   question closely
7. verb

   put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to
   “Test this recipe”

   synonyms: essay, examine, prove, try, try out

   types:

   control, verify

   check or regulate (a scientific experiment) by conducting a parallel experiment or comparing with another standard

   float

   circulate or discuss tentatively; test the waters with

   field-test

   test something under the conditions under which it will actually be used

   type of:

   evaluate, judge, pass judgment

   form a critical opinion of
8. verb

   undergo a test
   “She doesn't test well”

   synonyms:

   quiz

   examine someone's knowledge of something

   type of:

   submit, take

   accept or undergo, often unwillingly
9. verb

   achieve a certain score or rating on a test
   “She tested high on the LSAT and was admitted to all the good law schools”

   type of:

   score

   get a certain number or letter indicating quality or performance
10. verb

    determine the presence or properties of (a substance)
    type of:

    ascertain, check, determine, find out, learn, see, watch

    find out, learn, or determine with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other effort
11. verb

    test or examine for the presence of disease or infection
    synonyms: screen

    type of:

    check

    make an examination or investigation
12. verb

    show a certain characteristic when tested
    type of:

    be

    have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)
13. noun

    a hard outer covering as of some amoebas and sea urchins
    type of:

    cover, covering, natural covering

    a natural object that covers or envelops