analyze
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
to look at something very carefully to find out more about it.
to examine something methodically and in detail, typically in order to explain or interpret it.
Simple“The scientists need to analyze the water samples to make sure they are safe.”
In context“The researchers spent months trying to analyze the data collected during the clinical trials to determine if the new drug was effective.”
UsageOften followed by a noun phrase representing the object of study; frequently used in passive constructions in academic writing.
Teacher's tipNote the spelling difference: 'analyze' is the standard American form, while 'analyse' is used in British English.
Usage analyze our traffic · analyse data · analyse effect
“With a flash of light, 2,000 photographs are taken of my body, in the hope of capturing every mark, freckle and mole to analyse for different skin cancers.”
“Since 2008, Odgers has been working with 10- to 14-year-olds, extracting information every day from their phones, to analyse how they spend their time and how they are feeling.”
Probably formed within English, by back-formation, or by haplology from analysis + -ize, or from Middle French analyser, from the noun analyse, from Medieval Latin analysis, from Ancient Greek ἀνάλυσις (análusis, “a breaking up, a loosening, releasing”), from ἀναλύω (analúō, “to unloose, release, set free”), from ἀνά (aná, “on, up, above, throughout”) + λύσις (lúsis, “a loosening”), from λύω (lúō, “to unfasten”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.