inspect

English

Alternative forms

• enspect (rare)

Etymology

From Latin inspectum, past participle of inspicere (“to look into”), from in (“in”) + specere (“to look at”), equivalent to in- +‎ -spect.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈspɛkt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛkt

Verb

inspect (third-person singular simple present inspects, present participle inspecting, simple past and past participle inspected)

1. To examine critically or carefully; especially, to search out problems or determine condition; to scrutinize.

   Inspect the system for leaks.

2. To view and examine officially.

   The general inspected the troops and their barracks.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     ‘ […] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because “it was wicked to dress us like charity children”. […]’.

Synonyms

• (to examine critically or carefully): See Thesaurus:examine

Derived terms

• inspect the plumbing
• inspector
• inspection

Translations

examine critically, scrutinize

• Armenian: զննել (hy) (znnel)
• Belarusian: агляда́ць impf (ahljadácʹ), агле́дзець pf (ahljédzjecʹ)
• Bulgarian: преглеждам (bg) (pregleždam)
• Catalan: inspeccionar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 調查／调查 (zh) (diàochá), 檢查／检查 (zh) (jiǎnchá)

• Dutch: inspecteren (nl), onderzoeken (nl)
• Esperanto: inspekti
• Finnish: tarkastaa (fi), suorittaa tarkastus, tutkia (fi)
• Galician: inspeccionar, cachear (gl), rexistrar (gl)
• German: begutachten (de), untersuchen (de), inspizieren (de)
• Hungarian: megvizsgál (hu)
• Ingrian: katsella
• Italian: ispezionare (it), investigare (it), analizzare (it)
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Khmer: ពិនិត្យ (km) (pinɨt)
• Latin: aspiciō (la), inspiciō
• Maori: mātātaki, tōmene
• Nepali: जाँच्नु (jā̃cnu)
• Old English: inscēawian, smēagan
• Russian: осма́тривать (ru) impf (osmátrivatʹ), осмотре́ть (ru) pf (osmotrétʹ)
• Sanskrit: परीक्षते (parīkṣate)
• Spanish: inspeccionar (es)
• Swedish: inspektera (sv)
• Tagalog: tingin
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: kiểm tra (vi)

view and examine officially

• Belarusian: інспектава́ць impf (inspjektavácʹ), праінспектава́ць pf (prainspjektavácʹ)
• Bulgarian: инспектирам (bg) (inspektiram)
• Catalan: inspeccionar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 调查 (zh) (diàochá)

• Esperanto: inspekti
• Finnish: tarkastaa (fi), suorittaa tarkastus
• German: inspizieren (de), prüfen (de), begutachten (de)
• Hungarian: bevizsgál (hu), megtekint (hu), ellenőriz (hu)
• Italian: ispezionare (it)
• Latin: aspiciō (la), inspiciō
• Nepali: जाँच्नु (jā̃cnu)
• Oromo: sakatta'uu
• Russian: инспекти́ровать (ru) impf (inspektírovatʹ), проинспекти́ровать (ru) pf (proinspektírovatʹ)
• Spanish: inspeccionar (es), pasar revista
• Swedish: inspektera (sv)
• Tagalog: masid
• Ukrainian: інспектува́ти impf or pf (inspektuváty), проінспектува́ти (uk) pf (proinspektuváty)

Anagrams

• incepts, pectins, peincts