# quiz

/ˈkwɪz/ (US) · /kwˈɪz/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/quiz
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. a game or competition

noun · CEFR A2

a game or competition where people answer questions to test their knowledge.

For teachers: a competition or entertainment in which participants answer questions on various topics.

- Our local pub holds a general knowledge quiz every Tuesday night.
- The charity organised a themed quiz to raise funds, attracting teams from across the city to compete for the trophy.

### 2. a short school test

noun · CEFR A2

a short, informal test given by a teacher to check what students have learned.

For teachers: a brief or informal assessment of a student's knowledge, typically shorter and less formal than an exam.

- The teacher gave us a quick vocabulary quiz at the start of the lesson.
- The professor uses weekly unannounced quizzes to ensure that students remain current with the required reading materials.

### 3. to ask questions

verb · CEFR B1

to ask someone many questions to find out what they know or what happened.

For teachers: to examine or interrogate someone by asking a series of questions.

- The police began to quiz the witnesses about what they saw during the accident.
- The journalists continued to quiz the minister on the details of the new economic policy during the press conference.

Usage: Often takes the preposition 'on' or 'about' for the subject matter.

### 4. an odd person

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Literary

a person who is strange, unusual, or funny in an old-fashioned way.

For teachers: an eccentric or puzzling person. This sense is largely confined to historical literature.

- The old man was a bit of a quiz, always wearing mismatched shoes and singing to himself.
- In the nineteenth-century novel, the protagonist is described as a curious quiz whose social blunders provide much of the comedy.

## Examples

- We have a quick vocabulary quiz every Friday morning.
- The teacher surprised the class with a pop quiz to see who had finished the reading assignment.
- While the midterm exam covers the entire semester, these weekly quizzes serve as low-stakes assessments to ensure students are keeping pace with the curriculum.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.