QUESTION | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary
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English (US)

Meaning of question in English

question
noun
us
/ˈkwes.tʃən/ uk
/ˈkwes.tʃən/

question noun (ASKING)

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A1 [ C ]
a sentence or phrase used to find out information:
ask someone a question The police asked me questions all day.
answer a question Why won't you answer my question?
that is a good question "So where is the missing money?" "That's a good question." (= I don't know the answer.)
question-and-answer session There will be a question-and-answer session (= a period when people can ask questions) at the end of the talk.
A2 [ C ]
in an exam, a problem that tests a person's knowledge or ability:
answer/do a question Answer/Do as many questions as you can.
More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Questioning people & asking questions in general
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question noun (PROBLEM)

B2 [ C ]
any matter that needs to be dealt with or considered:
raise the question of This raises the question of teacher pay.
What are your views on the climate change question?
B2 [ U ]
doubt or confusion:
question about There's no question about (= it is certain) whose fault it is.
open to question Whether children are reading fewer books is open to question (= there is some doubt about it).
beyond question Her loyalty is beyond question (= there is no doubt about it).
There's no question that he's guilty.
someone/something in question C2 formal
the person or thing that is being discussed:
I stayed home on the night in question.
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Grammar

Questions
A question is anything we write or say which requires a response. In writing, questions are usually followed by a question mark: …
Responding to wh-questions
Wh-questions ask for information and we do not expect a yes-no answer to a wh-question. We expect an answer which gives information: …
Adding emphasis to wh-questions
We can add emphasis to wh-questions in speaking by stressing the auxiliary verb do. We usually do this when we have not already received the information that we expected from an earlier question, or to show strong interest. …
Negative wh-questions
When we ask negative wh-questions, we use the auxiliary verb do when there is no other auxiliary or modal verb, even when the wh-word is the subject of the clause: …
Adding a wh-word at the end of a statement to make a question
In speaking, we can sometimes turn wh-questions into statement questions: …
Intonation and wh-questions
The intonation of wh-questions is normally falling. The falling intonation is on the most important syllable: …
Prepositions and particles with wh-questions
We can use wh-words and phrases after prepositions in more formal questions: …
Questions: alternative questions (Is it black or grey?)
An alternative question gives a choice of two or more answers in the question and includes or: …
Forming alternative questions
We usually form alternative questions with an auxiliary verb (be, do or have) + subject + main verb or with a modal verb + subject + main verb: …
Different types of alternative question
We can also ask alternative questions using or not? This is a very direct question and sometimes it can express annoyance or impatience: …
Reduced alternative questions (tea or coffee?)
Sometimes in informal speaking, we make alternative questions shorter by just saying the alternatives: …
Responding to alternative questions
We can answer an alternative question in different ways, but we do not normally answer yes: …
Questions: echo and checking questions
We use echo questions to repeat part of what we have just heard when we don’t fully understand or when we want to confirm what we have heard. We use rising or fall-rising intonation: …
Questions: follow-up questions
In conversation, we often ask short questions about something that somebody else has just said. There are a number of types. …
Questions: statement questions (you’re over 18?)
We can use statements (declaratives) to ask yes-no questions. In writing we know they are questions because they have question marks. In speaking we know they are questions because of the context, and often because of their intonation: …
Questions: two-step questions
In speaking, we sometimes ask two questions together. The first question is just an introduction for the listener. We use these especially when we don’t want to be too direct: …
Two-step yes-no questions
We sometimes use yes-no questions one after the other. The first question is an introduction to the topic and the speaker usually knows the answer. The second question is more specific. …
Pre-questions in two-step questions
Sometimes we ask if we can ask a question. This is very polite: …
Two-step questions that suggest the answer
We also use two-step questions to first ask a question and then suggest an answer with a rising or fall-rising intonation. The speaker is quite sure of the answer and wants the listener to confirm it: …
Questions: interrogative pronouns (what, who)
We use interrogative pronouns to ask questions. They are: who, which, whom, what and whose. These are also known as wh-words. Questions using these are called wh-questions: …
Questions: yes-no questions (Are you feeling cold?)
Questions that need either a yes or a no answer are called yes-no questions: …
Interrogative pronouns: uses
We use who and whom on their own: …
Questions: short forms
In informal situations, especially in speaking, we can reduce questions rather than using complete clauses. Short questions can be clauses, phrases or even single words: …
Questions: typical errors
In wh-questions, the word order changes from subject + (auxiliary/modal) + main verb to wh-word + auxiliary/modal verb + subject + main verb: …
Forming yes-no questions
We form yes-no questions with an auxiliary verb (be, do or have) + subject + main verb or with a modal verb + subject + main verb: …
Responding to yes-no questions
Other ways of saying yes and no include yeah, yep, mm, okay, and nah, nope. These are informal: …
Negative yes-no questions
We usually use negative yes-no questions to check or confirm something we believe or expect to be the case, or when we consider that something is the best thing to do: …
Intonation and yes-no questions
The intonation of yes-no questions is normally either rising [ri↗sing arrow] or fall-rising [dow↘n u↗p arrow] intonation depending on the meaning. If we do not know the answer, we use rising intonation. If we more or less know the answer and are looking for confirmation, we use fall-rising intonation: …
Questions: wh-questions
Wh-questions begin with what, when, where, who, whom, which, whose, why and how. We use them to ask for information. The answer cannot be yes or no: …
Forming wh-questions
We usually form wh-questions with wh- + an auxiliary verb (be, do or have) + subject + main verb or with wh- + a modal verb + subject + main verb: …
You see
We commonly use you see in speaking when we want to share knowledge with our listener or listeners. When we use you see, we assume that the listener or listeners do not have the knowledge that we want them to have: …

Idioms

be a question of doing something
be out of the question
the million, billion, thousand, etc. dollar question
question
verb [ T ]
us
/ˈkwes.tʃən/ uk
/ˈkwes.tʃən/
B2
to ask a person about something, especially officially:
Several men were questioned by police yesterday about the burglary.
68 percent of those questioned in the poll thought noise levels had increased.
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
to ask a question
  • askI asked him what time the museum opened, but he didn't know.
  • inquireShe called to inquire about when her car would be ready.
  • consultConsult your doctor if your symptoms don't improve.
  • ask aroundI'll ask around and see if anyone knows of a good carpenter.
  • questionThe police are questioning him about the robbery.
  • interviewAfter the race, she was interviewed by journalists.
See more results »
B2
to express doubts about the value or truth of something:
question the wisdom of I questioned the wisdom of taking so many pills.
[ + question word ] Results from a study questioned whether treatment with the drug really improved survival.
She gave me a questioning look (= as if she wanted an answer from me).
More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Questioning people & asking questions in general
See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Grammar

You see
We commonly use you see in speaking when we want to share knowledge with our listener or listeners. When we use you see, we assume that the listener or listeners do not have the knowledge that we want them to have: …
(Definition of question from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

question | Intermediate English

question
noun
us
/ˈkwes·tʃən/

question noun (SOMETHING ASKED)

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[ C ]
a word or words used to find out information:
May I ask you a personal question?
Our help line will answer your questions about patient care.

question noun (PROBLEM)

[ C/U ]
a matter to be dealt with or discussed, or a problem to be solved:
[ C ] Your article raises the question of human rights.
[ C ] It’s simply a question of getting your priorities straight.
[ C ] The question is, are they telling the truth?
[ U ] I was at home on the night in question.
[ C/U ]
In an exam, a question is a problem that tests a person’s knowledge:
[ C ] Answer as many questions as you can.

question noun (DOUBT)

[ U ]
doubt or uncertainty:
He’s competent – there’s no question about that.
Her loyalty is beyond question.
question
verb [ T ]
us
/ˈkwes·tʃən/

question verb [T] (ASK)

to use a word or words to find out information:
Mom’s always questioning me about my friends.
The police questioned several men about the burglary.
If you question something, you express doubt or uncertainty about it:
[ + question word ] The book questions whether people today are better off than their parents were.
(Definition of question from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

question | Business English

question
noun
uk
/ˈkwestʃən/ us
Add to word list Add to word list
[ C ]
a sentence or phrase that asks for information:
ask (sb) a question Can I ask a question, Gail?
answer a question Not one assistant correctly answered all the questions they were asked.
have a question Does anybody have any questions?
[ C ]
a subject or problem:
We return to the question of whether pay for performance really motivates employees.
One very difficult question is how to charge market prices for energy.
[ C, U ]
a feeling of doubt about something:
There is some question as to what is the best strategy.
The ethics of some of his business deals are open to question.
raise questions about sth His evidence raised questions about the credibility of a key eyewitness.
See also
scaled question
bring/call sth into question
to express doubt about something:
If somebody calls something into question, then let's stop and review it.
to make people feel doubt about something:
The chief executive's popularity has sunk to levels that bring his legitimacy into question.
in question
that is being discussed:
For shareholders of the company in question the idea of a takeover must be appealing.
if something is in question, no-one knows what is going to happen to it:
The automaker's future remains in question.
out of the question
if something is out of the question, it definitely will not or cannot happen:
A pay rise is out of the question.
question
verb [ T ]
uk
/ˈkwestʃən/ us
to ask someone questions about something:
He does not know why authorities decided to question him.
question sb about/on sth Employers are not legally allowed to question job candidates about their plans to have children.
to express doubts about something:
Increasingly, the return on huge software investments made to improve efficiency was being questioned.
(Definition of question from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of question

question
But the answer to one question was astonishing.
From The Atlantic
My question is whether to go to the wedding.
From The Seattle Times
But it won't be able to answer a lot of your questions.
From NPR
By submitting a question, you agree to the following terms found below.
From CNN
This is just a question concerning energy topics.
From TIME
It's a question of how long they can hang on.
From Business Insider
I mean, it's a question of who reads them.
From The Atlantic
For most of us, even the most basic questions about water turn out to be stumpers.
From NPR
Now, as then, it's all about your questions and our community's answers.
From Ars Technica
Why and how are two good questions you may have.
From CNN
The question is what happens to them then.
From Foreign Policy
The question is, as it has always been: now what?
From The Atlantic
When someone asks you how or what you are doing, consider the source of the question.
From Huffington Post
The second question is, well, what happens next?
From NPR
If you have questions about what happened, give us a call.
From NPR
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with question

question

These are words often used in combination with question.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

all-important question
I should like to turn to the all-important question of conservation.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
basic question
Research on this basic question is ongoing and far from settled.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
burning question
That is the burning question.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
See all collocations with question
What is the pronunciation of question?
 

Translations of question

in Chinese (Traditional)
提問, 問題, 試題，題目…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
提问, 问题, 试题，题目…
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in Spanish
pregunta, cuestión, duda…
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in Portuguese
pergunta, questão, dúvida…
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in more languages
in Marathi
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प्रश्न, प्रश्न / परीक्षेत व्यक्तीचे ज्ञान किंवा क्षमता तपासण्यासाठी विचारलेला मुद्दा, संदेह…
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質問, 疑問, （試験の）問題…
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soru, sual, sorun…
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question [feminine], doute [masculine], questionner…
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pregunta, dubte, qüestió…
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kwestie, vraag, twijfel…
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தகவல் கண்டுபிடிக்க பயன்படுத்தப்படும் ஒரு வாக்கியம் அல்லது சொற்றொடர், ஒரு தேர்வில், ஒரு நபரின் அறிவு அல்லது திறனை சோதிக்கும் முறை…
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(जानकारी पाने हेतु पुछा गया) सवाल, प्रश्न, (ज्ञान या क्षमता परखने हेतु परीक्षा में पूछा गया) प्रश्न…
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પ્રશ્ન, પ્રશ્ન ચિહ્ન, શંકા અથવા દુવિધા…
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spørgsmål, diskussion, tvivl…
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fråga, spörsmål, uppgift…
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soalan, persoalan, keraguan…
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die Frage, fragen, infrage stellen…
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spørsmål [neuter], problem [neuter], sak [masculine]…
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سوالات, سوال (امتحان کے), سوال…
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запитання, питання, проблема…
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вопрос, проблема, сомнение…
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ప్రశ్నించడం, ప్రశ్నాపత్రంలోని ప్రశ్న, ప్రశ్న…
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سُؤال, شَكّ, تَساؤل…
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জিজ্ঞাসাবাদ, প্রশ্ন, কারও জ্ঞান বা দক্ষতা যাচাই করার জন্যে পরীক্ষায় দেওয়া প্রশ্ন…
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otázka, pochyby, diskuse…
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pertanyaan, persoalan, soal…
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คำถาม, ปัญหา, หัวข้อ…
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câu hỏi, vấn đề, câu hỏi kiểm tra…
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pytanie, kwestia, wątpliwość…
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질문, 문제, 의심…
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domanda, quesito, dubbio…
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UK
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US
/ˌdʒaɪ.rəˈskɑː.pɪ.kəl.i/

with the use of a gyroscope (= a device containing a wheel that spins freely within a frame, used on aircraft, ships, etc. to help keep them horizontal)

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