ENGLISH
REFERENCE

investigated

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˌɪnˈvɛstəˌɡeɪtəd// UK //ɪnvˈɛstɪɡˌeɪtɪd// in·ves·ti·gat·ed

v. to look into something carefully to find out the truth. You do this when you want to solve a mystery or understand why a problem happened.

v. to carry out a systematic or formal inquiry to discover and examine the facts of an incident, allegation, or process. Transitive — requires a direct object.


SIMPLE

The police investigated the cause of the accident.

CONTEXTUAL

The company investigated the security breach to ensure no customer data was stolen.

COMPLEX

After several whistleblowers came forward, the committee investigated the allegations of financial misconduct within the charity's leadership.

Synonyms
Usage

The verb is transitive and takes a direct object. It is often used in the passive voice in formal reporting.

Pitfall

The police investigated about the crimeThe police investigated the crimeInvestigate is a transitive verb and does not take the preposition 'about' before its object.

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