investigate
[ɪnˈvɛs.tɪ.ɡeɪ̯t]verb
investigate is spelled I-N-V-E-S-T-I-G-A-T-E: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 20 times per million words in written English, the 4,224th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, investigate means “To inquire into or study in order to ascertain facts or information” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in investigate?
| Letters | 11: I-N-V-E-S-T-I-G-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 20 times per million words; the 4,224th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is investigate?
Investigate appears 20 times per million words in written English, the 4,224th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce investigate?
- /ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪt/
- US [ɪnˈvɛs.tɪ.ɡeɪ̯t]
- US [ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪ̯ʔ]
Investigate has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-investigate.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Zazollo-investigate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of investigate
- investigates present, singular, he/she/it
- investigating participle, present
- investigated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does investigate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To inquire into or study in order to ascertain facts or information.
to investigate the causes of natural phenomena
- 2
To examine, look into, or scrutinize in order to discover something hidden or secret.
to investigate an unsolved murder
- 3
To conduct an inquiry or examination.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Investigate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | étudier , enquêter |
| German | untersuchen, erforschen, recherchieren , ermitteln |
| Portuguese | investigar , examinar |
| Spanish | indagar , pesquisar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does investigate come from?
Recorded since circa 1510, a back-formation from investigation on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix), from Latin investīgātiō (“a searching into”), from investīgātus, the perfect passive participle of investīgō, equivalent to in- + vestigate. Displaced native Old English undersēċan (literally “to search under or between”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).