quiz
quiz Lexical Profile
quiz Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A short, informal test or assessment of student knowledge, typically shorter and carrying less weight than a formal examination.
"The history teacher gave the class a surprise quiz on the assigned reading."
A game or competition in which participants answer trivia questions to test their general or specialized knowledge.
"Our team won first prize at the local pub quiz last Friday night."
An odd, eccentric, or comical person, or a practical joke (archaic).
"In nineteenth-century literature, the character was often described as an amusing old quiz."
• verb
To question someone closely, repeatedly, or thoroughly in order to obtain information.
"Reporters quizzed the mayor for nearly an hour about the new municipal budget."
To test the knowledge of a student or participant by asking a series of questions.
"She quizzed her lab partner on the periodic table before the chemistry exam."
To look at someone with curiosity or mockery, or to make fun of someone (archaic).
"The dandy raised his monocle to quiz the newcomers across the ballroom."
• Rhymes for quiz
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in the late 18th century originally meaning an odd or eccentric person; its exact origin is uncertain, though popular folklore attributes it to a 1791 wager by Dublin theater manager Richard Daly to introduce a nonsense word into the city's vocabulary overnight.