Definition of: experiment

(ik·sper′ə·mənt) noun
1. An act or operation designed to discover, test, or illustrate a truth, principle, or effect; a test, especially one intended to confirm or disprove something which is still in doubt.
2. The conducting of such operations or tests.
3. Something undergoing the test of actual experience, as opposed to that whose practicability or usefulness has been fully demonstrated: often used depreciatively: Your boasted institutions are but an experiment.
4. Obs. Experience.
—v.i. (-ment) To make experiments; make a test or trial. [<OF <L experimentum <experiri try out]
—ex·per′i·ment′er noun