inspect

American  

[in-spekt] / ɪnˈspɛkt /

verb (used with object)

1. to look carefully at or over; view closely and critically.

   to inspect every part of the motor.

   Synonyms:

   study, investigate, scrutinize, examine

2. to view or examine formally or officially.

   The general inspected the troops.

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inspect British  

/ ɪnˈspɛkt /

verb

1. to examine closely, esp for faults or errors

2. to scrutinize officially (a document, military personnel on ceremonial parade, etc)

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Other Word Forms

• inspectability noun
• inspectable adjective
• inspectingly adverb
• inspection noun
• inspectional adjective
• inspective adjective
• preinspect verb (used with object)
• quasi-inspected adjective
• reinspect verb (used with object)
• self-inspected adjective
• uninspected adjective
• well-inspected adjective

Etymology

Origin of inspect

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin inspectus “looked into,” past participle of inspicere “to look into,” from in in- ² + -spicere, combining form of specere “to look, regard, see”

Explanation

When you inspect something, you look at it carefully. When you're buying a used car, you should inspect it inside and out, and if you don't know much about what goes on under the hood, you should have a mechanic inspect it, too. Inspect means literally "to look into," and includes the Latin root that you find in lots of other words related to "look" — spectacle, respect, and spectator for instance. If you work in a restaurant, you may see a health department official come to inspect the operation, to make sure everything is clean and the food is stored and cooked properly and that the restaurant doesn't have any health code violations that might make your diners sick.

Example Sentences

“The insurance company doesn’t have to inspect the vehicle to make sure it’s been repaired. So they’ll just cash out and then move on,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2026

Beyond that, Fix said “it’s not cheap but it’s worth it” to get a local mechanic to inspect the car for some peace of mind.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

Google’s legendary engineering leader, Jeff Dean, asked to inspect the code that powered the Atari system.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

In July of that year, the Code Enforcement division of the Planning Department dropped in to inspect and cited Quirky for code violations: litter, outdoor storage, tents erected at a place other than a campsite.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

I inspect every inch of it with my twenty-three cameras.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

Related Words

• audit
• check out
• go through
• investigate
• observe
• oversee
• probe
• review
• scan
• scrutinize
• search
• supervise
• survey
• watch