Query

'kwɪəri

nounBeginnerVery CommonGeneral

Definitions

2 meanings
1

A question or an act of asking a question.

'kwɪəri

nounneutralBeginner
General

A question, especially one addressed to an official or organization.

I have a query about the invoice.

💡 Simply: A query is like asking someone a question to get information. Like when you ask a teacher about homework or ask Google a question.

👶 For kids: A query is like a question.

More Examples

2

The company received numerous queries about the new policy.

3

He raised a query during the meeting.

How It's Used

Legal

"The lawyer submitted a formal query to the court."

Customer Service

"We received a query about the product's features."

Database

"The database uses a query to retrieve specific data."

2

To ask a question or to question someone or something.

'kwɪəri

verbneutralBeginner
General

To ask a question or make an inquiry.

The journalist queried the CEO about the company's performance.

💡 Simply: Querying is like asking questions to find out something. If you query someone, you're basically asking them.

👶 For kids: To query means to ask a question.

More Examples

2

I queried the customer support team about the delayed shipment.

3

We queried the data to find the relevant information.

How It's Used

Journalism

"The reporter queried the politician about the scandal."

Research

"Researchers queried the survey participants for more details."

Database

"The programmer queried the database to find specific records."

Tip:Imagine someone's questioning you. It means they're querying you, just like a detective might.

Idioms & expressions

inquiry desk

A place where you can go to ask questions and get information.

"I went to the inquiry desk to ask about the lost and found."

From Old French 'quere', 'querre' meaning 'to ask, seek', ultimately from Latin 'quaerere' meaning 'to seek, ask'.

The word 'query' has been used since the 16th century in a variety of contexts to mean a question or the act of questioning.

Memory tip

Think of a detective asking questions to solve a case. A query is a detective's question.

quaryquereyquerry

Usage

40%Spoken
60%Written