to probe deeper
1
4.4
- phrasal verb
:
investigar más a fondo
- Only when the interviewer probed deeper did Mandy expound on the events that led up to her experiences of trading sex.
- try to probe deeper
Examples
-
In order to find the truth, journalists must probe deeper into the issues affecting their communities.
-
Now we can often probe deeper, in a few days... than we used to do in months or even years.
-
I got to let my feelings subside and probe deeper into this case.
-
We must therefore probe deeper and ask why Fisher had such an overwhelming preference.
Academic text (1991) -
How about probing deeper into why Iran and so many other nations dislike the Israeli government?
Blog text (17) -
Moreover, I was able to probe deeper by engaging tattoo clients in informal conversations as they waited for their tattoo appointments.
Academic text (2012) -
The instruments aboard Fermi improve the gamma-ray sky map with every scan, probing deeper into the cosmos to reveal ever more distant and fainter objects.
Academic text (2012) -
To understand the complexity of human emotions, we need to probe deeper into our own experiences.
-
The detective decided to probe deeper into the suspect's background to uncover hidden motives.
Synonyms
∞
2.8
To look carefully at something to find facts
∞
1.0
To look at something carefully to understand it
868
2.5
To look at something carefully to find facts or problems
675
3.2
To study something carefully to understand it better
573
2.8
Examine something carefully to find out more
471
2.3
To study something carefully to learn more about it
300
3.1
To study a subject carefully to find new facts
137
3.9
Find the real reason for a problem by checking carefully
70
3.7
To look at something carefully, often by searching under the surface
61
4.7
To look deeply into a subject to find information
43
4.4
Search carefully to find hidden facts or details
36
6.4
Understand the true meaning or nature of something
35
5.1
To ask careful questions to find hidden information
11
4.8
To look closely at information by breaking it into smaller parts
7
7.4
To examine something deeply to learn more about it
1
5.7
To look below the surface to find the real reasons
To look closely at the small parts of a plan or report to understand it
To examine something carefully to find hidden details
Antonyms
How Deeply
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to investigate more thoroughly' is directly compositional: 'probe' (to inquire intensively) modified by 'deeper' (to a greater depth/degree), so a learner who knows both words can infer the sense. This verb + degree-adverb pattern is a regular, cross-linguistic construction and therefore readily transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
Probe deeper comes from the image of pushing a long tool, a probe, further down into a hole or a body so you can find what is hidden. One popular image is doctors or explorers using probes to reach hidden parts, so the phrase now means 'to investigate more carefully'.