American Heritage Dictionary Entry: example HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key. Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window. guide to the dictionary THE USAGE PANEL The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions. The Panelists NEED HELP SOLVING A CROSSWORD PUZZLE? Go to our Crossword Puzzle Solver and type in the letters that you know, and the Solver will produce a list of possible solutions. -- AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android. THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more. OPEN DICTIONARY PROJECT Share your ideas for new words and new meanings of old words! Start Sharing Now! -- See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series! Find out more! INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES? Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com ex·am·ple (ĭg-zămpəl) Share: Tweet n. 1. One that is representative of a group as a whole: the squirrel, an example of a rodent; introduced each new word with examples of its use. 2. One serving as a pattern of a specific kind: set a good example by arriving on time. 3. A similar case that constitutes a model or precedent: a unique episode, without example in maritime history. 4. a. A punishment given as a warning or deterrent: saw the boy's suspension as an example to all students considering breaking the rules. b. One that has been given such a punishment: made an example of the offender. 5. A problem or exercise used to illustrate a principle or method.Idiom: for example As an illustrative instance: Wear something simple; for example, a skirt and blouse. [Middle English, from Old French example, essaumple, from Latin exemplum, from eximere, to take out : ex-, ex- + emere, to take; see em- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] Synonyms: example, instance, case1, illustration, specimen These nouns refer to what is representative of or serves to explain a larger group or class. An example is a typically representative part that demonstrates the character of the whole: "Of the despotism to which unrestrained military power leads we have plenty of examples from Alexander to Mao" (Samuel Eliot Morison). An instance is an example that is cited to prove or illustrate a point: offered the statistics as an instance of why the penal system needed to be overhauled. A case is an example belonging to a particular category: a case of life imitating art. An illustration clarifies or explains: "[The author] has provided an illustration of a first-rate experimental mind at work" (Richard Bernstein). Specimen often denotes an individual, representative member of a group or class: This poem is an excellent specimen of her work. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices: Indo-European Roots Semitic Roots The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots. 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