Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Examination \Ex*am`i*na"tion\, n. [L. examinatio: cf. F.
   examination.]
   1. The act of examining, or state of being examined; a
      careful search, investigation, or inquiry; scrutiny by
      study or experiment.

   2. A process prescribed or assigned for testing
      qualification; as, the examination of a student, or of a
      candidate for admission to the bar or the ministry.

            He neglected the studies, . . . stood low at the
            examinations.                         --Macaulay.

   {Examination in chief}, or {Direct examination} (Law), that
      examination which is made of a witness by a party calling
      him.

   {Cross-examination}, that made by the opposite party.

   {Re["e]xamination}, or {Re-direct examination}, that made by
      a party calling a witness, after, and upon matters arising
      out of, the cross-examination.

   Syn: Search; inquiry; investigation; research; scrutiny;
        inquisition; inspection; exploration.

Source : WordNet®

examination
     n 1: the act of examining something closely (as for mistakes)
          [syn: {scrutiny}]
     2: a set of questions or exercises evaluating skill or
        knowledge; "when the test was stolen the professor had to
        make a new set of questions" [syn: {exam}, {test}]
     3: formal systematic questioning [syn: {interrogation}, {interrogatory}]
     4: examination of conscience (as done daily by Jesuits) [syn: {examen}]
     5: the act of giving students or candidates a test (as by
        questions) to determine what they know or have learned
        [syn: {testing}]