INQUIRY • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Inquiry

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/ɪnkwˈaɪri/ /ɪnkwərri/ Listen

noun

Inquiry n. (pl. inquiries) (Written also enquiry)

1.

The act of inquiring; a seeking for information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning. "He could no path nor track of foot descry, Nor by inquiry learn, nor guess by aim." "The men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate."

2.

Search for truth, information, or knowledge; examination into facts or principles; research; investigation; as, physical inquiries. "All that is wanting to the perfection of this art will undoubtedly be found, if able men... will make inquiry into it."

Court of inquiry. See under Court.

Writ of inquiry, a writ issued in certain actions at law, where the defendant has suffered judgment to pass against him by default, in order to ascertain and assess the plaintiff's damages, where they can not readily be ascertained by mere calculation.

Synonyms: Interrogation; interrogatory; question; query; scrutiny; investigation; research; examination.

See images of 'Inquiry'

Etymology of 'Inquiry'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Inquiry" Quotes from Famous Books

... chaos is a problem which man has set before him. The world was built in order: and to us are trusted the will and power to discern its harmonies, and to make them the lessons of our lives. From the cradle to the grave we are surrounded with objects which provoke inquiry. Descending for a moment from this high plea to considerations which lie closer to us as a nation—as a land of gas and furnaces, of steam and electricity: as a land which science, practically applied, has made great in peace and mighty in war: I ask ...

— Fragments of science, V. 1-2 • John Tyndall

... second case—that of Mortimer Tregennis himself—you cannot have forgotten the horrible stuffiness of the room when we arrived, though the servant had thrown open the window. That servant, I found upon inquiry, was so ill that she had gone to her bed. You will admit, Watson, that these facts are very suggestive. In each case there is evidence of a poisonous atmosphere. In each case, also, there is combustion going on in the room—in the one case ...

— The Adventure of the Devil's Foot • Arthur Conan Doyle

... reason of his inquiry. "The fellow's got us into one row already. Why should he always ...

— Soldiers of the Queen • Harold Avery

... the fact that feeble-minded persons and others likely to become a burden on the community have in the past been introduced from overseas, the Committee recommend that, in addition to the precautions already taken in regard to assisted immigrants, inquiry should be made into the family history, especially as to whether it discloses any cases of insanity, epilepsy, or feeble-mindedness, and that applicants unable to produce satisfactory evidence on this point should be excluded. The Committee are further of the opinion that closer supervision ...

— Mental Defectives and Sexual Offenders • W. H. Triggs, Donald McGavin, Frederick Truby King, J. Sands Elliot, Ada G. Patterson, C.E. Matthews

... must be considered a little. You might leave a certain sum to these Bruces—or if, on inquiry, you found among them any child whom you approved, you could adopt him as your heir, and he ...

— A Noble Life • Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

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