exploratory

American

[ik-splawr-uh-tawr-ee] / ɪkˈsplɔr əˌtɔr i /

Also explorative

adjective

pertaining to or concerned with exploration.

an exploratory operation.
inclined to make explorations.

Other Word Forms

exploratively adverb
nonexplorative adjective
nonexploratory adjective
unexplorative adjective
unexploratory adjective

Etymology

Origin of exploratory

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English word from Latin word explōrātōrius. See exploration, -ory ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“It’s an exploratory conversation,” said Charles Scarallo, a certified financial planner in Melville, N.Y.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 5, 2026

Antonio held exploratory talks with the Championship club over a pay-as-you-play deal, before choosing to move to Qatar instead.

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2026

Two companies, Britain's Genel and Taiwan's CPC, are scheduled to drill the first exploratory well in the first quarter of 2027, the government says.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

As Coleman notes, "Simultaneous space- and ground-based observations of microlensing events could be applied in the planning of future exploratory missions and could lead to a better understanding of how planets form across the Galaxy."

From Science Daily • Jan. 4, 2026

I phoned Landsdoff at the New Institute for Advanced Study, about the possibility of utilizing the pair-production nuclear photoeffect for exploratory work in biophysics.

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023