quiz

Use quiz in a sentence

Students taking a quiz.

noun

The definition of a quiz is a questioning or a short test.
An example of a quiz is a series of ten multiple choices questions for students to answer.

verb

To quiz is defined as to test knowledge.
An example of to quiz is to ask students to name all the presidents' last names in order.

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MLA Style

"quiz." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/quiz>.

APA Style

quiz. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/quiz

quiz

noun

pl. quiz′zes

Obs.
1. an odd or eccentric person
2. a practical joke; hoax
a questioning; esp., a short oral or written examination to test knowledge

Origin of quiz

probably arbitrary use of Classical Latin quis, what (i.e., what sort of person or thing?)

transitive verb

quizzed, quiz′zing

Obs. to make fun of
Now Rare to look at, often specif., inquisitively, teasingly, etc.
1. to ask questions of: to quiz the suspect
2. to test the knowledge of: to quiz the class

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Link to this page

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MLA Style

"quiz." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/quiz>.

APA Style

quiz. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/quiz

quiz

transitive verb

quizzed, quiz·zing, quiz·zes

To question (someone), especially closely or repeatedly: “His searching questions as he quizzed me on my work made me tongue-tied at first” ( Susan Sellers )
To test the knowledge of by posing questions: quizzed the class on state capitals. See Synonyms at ask.
Archaic To poke fun at; mock.

noun

pl. quiz·zes

A questioning or inquiry.
A short oral or written test.
Archaic A practical joke.

Origin of quiz

Origin unknown

Related Forms:

quiz′zer
noun

Word History: While the origins of quiz remain obscure, we can at least trace the development of its senses. The term, first recorded in the late 1700s, originally meant “an odd or eccentric person.” From the noun in this sense came a verb meaning “to make sport or fun of” and “to regard mockingly.” In English dialects and probably in American English the verb quiz acquired senses relating to interrogation and questioning. This presumably occurred because quiz was associated with question, inquisitive, or perhaps the English dialect verb quiset, “to question” (probably itself short for obsolete inquisite, “to investigate”). From this new area of meaning came the noun and verb senses all too familiar to students.

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"quiz." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/quiz>.

APA Style

quiz. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/quiz

Noun

(plural quizzes)

Something designed to puzzle one or make one ridiculous; banter; raillery.
One who or that which quizzes.
(dated) An odd or absurd person or thing.
A competition in the answering of questions.
We came second in the pub quiz.
A school examination of less importance, or of greater brevity, than others given in the same course.
A shorter version of a test. Usually given in a classroom setting.

Verb

(third-person singular simple present quizzes, present participle quizzing, simple past and past participle quizzed)

(archaic) To hoax; to chaff or mock with pretended seriousness of discourse; to make sport of, as by obscure questions.
(archaic) To peer at; to eye suspiciously or mockingly.
To question closely, to interrogate.
To instruct by means of a quiz.

Origin

The true etymology is unknown.