probe

Etymology

For verb: borrowed from Latin probare (“to test, examine, prove”), from probus (“good”). For noun: borrowed from Late Latin proba (“a proof”), from probare (“to test, examine, prove”); Doublet of proof. Compare Spanish tienta (“a surgeon's probe”), from tentar (“try, test”); see tempt.

noun

1. (surgery) Any of various medical instruments used to explore wounds, organs, etc.
   1. (comedy, fiction) An anal probe, a fictional instrument commonly used by aliens on abducted humans.
      You know, XR178.9, we haven't done any anal probes in a while. Aug 2 2004, Bayard Russell, nonemorecomic
      You listen here! We don't do anal probes like other aliens, but I'm about to make an exception! Sep 14 2009, Ryan Hudson, “Can I Abduct You?”, in ChannelATE
2. (figurative) Something which penetrates something else, as though to explore; something which obtains information.
3. An act of probing; a prod, a poke.
4. (figurative) An investigation or inquiry.
   They launched a probe into the cause of the accident.
5. (aeronautics) A tube attached to an aircraft which can be fitted into the drogue from a tanker aircraft to allow for aerial refuelling.
6. (sciences) A small device, especially an electrode, used to explore, investigate or measure something by penetrating or being placed in it.
   Insert the probe into the soil and read the temperature.
7. (astronautics) A small, usually uncrewed, spacecraft used to acquire information or measurements about its surroundings.
8. (game of Go) a move with multiple answers seeking to make the opponent choose and commit to a strategy
9. (biochemistry) Any group of atoms or molecules radioactively labeled in order to study a given molecule or other structure

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive) To explore, investigate, or question
   It was exhilarating to watch him share a meal and then probe deeper into the cultures, the politics, and the heartbeat of the people of the city or country he was in. He seemed so learned, but not in any pretentious way. 2019, Chris Meyer, (Please provide the book title or journal name), page 116
   If you probe further, you may discover different reasons.
2. (transitive) To insert a probe into.