Inquiry Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary (original) (raw)
Britannica Dictionary definition of INQUIRY
1
[count]
:
a request for information
- She refused to answer inquiries from the media about her marriage.
— often + into
- She was told that she could not make an inquiry into [=she could not ask about] the salaries of her coworkers.
2
[count]
:
an official effort to collect and examine information about something
:
- judicial/legislative inquiries
- The board ordered an inquiry to determine whether the rules had been followed.
— often + into
- The police are conducting an _inquir_y into (the circumstances of) his death.
◊ In British English, a person who is being questioned by the police as a suspect or a witness is said to be helping the police with their inquiries.
3
[noncount]
:
the act of asking questions in order to gather or collect information
- Further inquiry showed that he had visited the city twice before.
- scientific/academic inquiry
- The police are pursuing a new line of inquiry.