EXAMPLE Definition & Meaning

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example

[ ig-zam-puhl, -zahm- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

one of a number of things, or a part of something, taken to show the character of the whole:
This painting is an example of his early work.
Synonyms: ,
a pattern or model, as of something to be imitated or avoided:
to set a good example.
Synonyms: , , , , , , , ,
an instance serving for illustration; a representative case:
The case histories gave carefully detailed examples of this disease.
Synonyms: , , , , , ,
an instance illustrating a rule or method, as a mathematical problem proposed for solution.
an instance, especially of punishment, serving as a warning to others:
Public executions were meant to be examples to the populace.
a precedent; parallel case:
an action without example.

verb (used with object)

exampled, exampling.

Rare. to give or be an example of; exemplify (used in the passive).

example

/ ɪɡˈ��ɑː��ə�� /

noun

a specimen or instance that is typical of the group or set of which it forms part; sample
a person, action, thing, etc, that is worthy of imitation; pattern
you must set an example to the younger children
a precedent, illustration of a principle, or model
an example in a maths book
a punishment or the recipient of a punishment serving or intended to serve as a warning
the headmaster made an example of him
for example
as an illustration; for instance

verb

tr; now usually passive to present an example of; exemplify

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of example¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English exa(u)mple, from Middle French example, from Latin exemplum, akin to eximere “to take out,” from ex- ex- ¹ + emere “to buy,” originally “to take”; replacing Middle English exemple, from Latin, as above

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of example¹

C14: from Old French, from Latin exemplum pattern, from eximere to take out, from ex- ¹+ emere to purchase

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Idioms and Phrases

see for example ; make an example of ; set an example .

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Synonym Study

Example, sample, specimen refer to an individual phenomenon taken as representative of a type, or to a part representative of the whole. Example is used of an object, condition, etc., that is assumed to illustrate a certain principle or standard: a good example of baroque architecture. Sample refers to a small portion of a substance or to a single representative of a group or type that is intended to show what the rest of the substance or the group is like: a sample of yarn. Specimen usually suggests that the “sample” chosen is intended to serve a scientific or technical purpose: a blood specimen; zoological specimens. See ideal. See case ¹.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Until recently cases like this were unheard of in the UK, although there have been a handful of examples in other countries.

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Historically, there have been few examples of zombie films made in Mexico, even if the horror genre at large has always proven widely popular with Mexican audiences.

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Mr Villén offers the example of Barcelona, where rental increases have become notorious.

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“If they had, it would be impossible to roll back. For example, imagine if companies tried to roll back white male leadership. Impossible.”

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Recent commercial examples include Fergusons Downtown in Las Vegas, a 1940s motel reborn as a food and retail center in 2019.

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

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