quiz

1 of 2

noun

ˈkwiz How to pronounce quiz (audio)
plural quizzes
Synonyms of quiznext
1
: an eccentric person
2
: practical joke
3
: the act or action of quizzing
specifically : a short oral or written test

quiz

2 of 2

verb

quizzed; quizzing

transitive verb

1
: to make fun of : mock
2
: to look at inquisitively
3
: to question closely
quizzer noun

Synonyms of quiz

Relevance

Noun

Verb

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of quiz in a Sentence

Noun The teacher gave us a quiz on the material we studied yesterday. always eager to put everything down, my boyfriend had to be a quiz and make fun of the actors and costumes in our local theater troupe's latest production Verb quickly quizzed her about the assignment before heading off to class hated the way those relatives would quiz me about my partner and our living arrangements
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Test your economic knowledge and earn a diploma with this eight-question quiz. — Brittney Melton, NPR, 28 Aug. 2026 Plehn recommends taking a quiz to discover your personal ‘Soul Aura Color’—then anchor your fall decor to match. — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Aug. 2026
Verb
Are film-festival press conferences the place to quiz celebrities about politics? — Nate Jones, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026 Barbera and his team then decided to go ahead and hold the presser after online observers blasted Venice’s hesitation to cancel it as a move to shield jury members from being quizzed about politics. — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 1 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for quiz

Word History

Etymology

Noun

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1781, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1787, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of quiz was circa 1781

Phrases Containing quiz

Rhymes for quiz

See All Rhymes for quiz

Browse Nearby Words

quixotry
quiz
quizee
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Quiz.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quiz. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

quiz

1 of 2 noun
ˈkwiz How to pronounce quiz (audio)
plural quizzes
1
: a person who mocks
2
: the act or action of quizzing
especially : a short oral or written test

quiz

2 of 2 verb
quizzed; quizzing
1
: to make fun of : mock
2
: to ask many questions
quizzer noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gist

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All