test

{{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}}

noun

1 examination of sb's knowledge/ability

ADJECTIVE

▪ demanding, difficult, gruelling/grueling

▪ easy, simple

▪ fair, good, objective

▪

This type of exam does not provide a fair test of the student's knowledge.

▪ standardized

▪ class (BrE), take-home (AmE)

▪ listening, oral, practical, written

▪ essay (AmE)

▪ cloze, multiple-choice

▪ aptitude, SAT™ (in the US)

▪ intelligence, IQ, mental

▪ achievement, endurance, proficiency

▪

The recruits were put through a week of demanding endurance tests.

▪ language, memory, spelling

▪ placement

▪

He scored well in the placement test and was put in the most advanced class.

▪ driver's (AmE), driving, road (AmE)

▪ screen

▪

Three actors out of a hundred were chosen from the screen test.

VERB + TEST

▪ do (BrE), sit (BrE), take

▪

I took my driving test last week.

▪ review for (AmE), revise for (BrE), study for

▪ complete

▪ pass

▪ fail

▪ give, set

▪ administer

▪ monitor

▪ grade (esp. AmE), mark (esp. BrE)

TEST + NOUN

▪ result, score

▪ conditions

▪

As a final practice for the exam, they had to write two essays under test conditions.

▪ paper, questions

PREPOSITION

▪ in a/the test (BrE), on a/the test (AmE)

▪

a good mark in the test (BrE)

▪

a good grade on the test (AmE)

▪ test in

▪

a test in mathematics

▪ test on

▪

a test on the French Revolution

2 experiment; medical examination

ADJECTIVE

▪ exhaustive (esp. BrE), extensive, rigorous, stringent, thorough

▪ initial, preliminary

▪ routine, standard

▪ statistical

▪ empirical, experimental

▪ field, lab (informal), laboratory

▪ successful

▪ negative, positive

▪ medical

▪ screening

▪

screening tests for cancer

▪ diagnostic

▪ forensic

▪

Forensic tests showed that the man had been poisoned.

▪ eye, sight (BrE)

▪ hearing

▪ blood, DNA, genetic, skin, urine

▪ dope (esp. BrE), drug, drugs (BrE)

▪ fitness

▪ breath, breathalyser/Breathalyzer™

▪ Pap (AmE), Pap smear (AmE), smear (BrE)

▪

a campaign advising women of the need for regular Pap/smear tests

▪ AIDS, HIV

▪ pregnancy

▪ paternity

▪ personality, psychological, psychometric

▪ ink-blot, Rorschach

▪ lie-detector, polygraph

▪ means

▪ flight, road, safety

▪ crash

▪ atomic, nuclear

▪ alpha, beta

▪

The new system goes into beta test this month.

… OF TESTS

▪ number, series

▪

She had a series of blood tests.

VERB + TEST

▪ have, undergo

▪ carry out, conduct, do, perform, run

▪

Rigorous safety tests are being carried out on the new jet.

▪ apply, use

▪

The judge applied the wrong test in coming to his decision.

▪

The test used in detecting the disease carries its own risks.

▪ fail

▪

Three athletes were sent home after failing drugs tests.

TEST + VERB

▪ take place

▪ confirm sth, demonstrate sth, indicate sth, measure sth, reveal sth, show sth

▪

The urine test showed some sort of infection.

▪ prove negative, prove positive

▪ come into force

▪

The new safety test came into force last month.

▪ be designed to

▪

a test designed to detect bowel cancer

TEST + NOUN

▪ result

▪

a negative/positive test result

▪ data, statistics

▪ conditions

▪

The machine refused to perform correctly under test conditions.

▪ bed, platform

▪

The company is using the library as a test bed for its new software.

▪ range, site

▪

protesters at nuclear test sites

▪ facility

▪ drive, flight, run

▪

He's taken the car out on a test run.

▪ driver, pilot

▪ aircraft, car

▪ trial

▪

The new drink went down well in the test trials.

▪ methods, procedures

▪ system

▪ performance

▪ subject

▪ equipment, instruments, kit, machine

▪ samples, substances

▪ strip

▪

Dip the test strip in the urine sample.

▪ programme/program

▪ period, phase, stage

▪

The software is still at the test stage.

▪ ban

▪

negotiations on a nuclear test ban

▪ session

▪

Subjects had to attend ten test sessions on different days.

▪ certificate (BrE)

▪

The vehicle did not have a current test certificate at the time of the accident.

▪ case

▪

This was the first action taken by a cancer sufferer against a tobacco company, and was seen as a test case.

PREPOSITION

▪ test for

▪

a test for diabetes

▪ test on

▪

a test on the engine

3 shows how good, strong, effective, etc. sb/sth is

ADJECTIVE

▪ good

▪ critical, crucial, key, real, supreme, true, ultimate, vital (esp. BrE)

▪

a real test of character

▪ serious, severe, stiff, tough

▪ simple

▪ objective

▪ subjective

▪ political

VERB + TEST

▪ pose, provide

▪

The calls for tax reform pose a severe test for the government.

▪ put sb/sth to the test

▪

The pay dispute has really put her management skills to the test.

▪ face

▪

The new president is facing his toughest political test so far.

TEST + NOUN

▪ case

PHRASES

▪ the acid test, the litmus test (= a way of deciding whether sth is successful or true)

▪

Whether he would accept a pay cut would be the acid test of his loyalty to the company.

▪ stand the test of time

▪

Whether this new technology will stand the test of time remains to be seen.

{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}

verb

1 examine sth to find out if it is working/what it is like

ADVERB

▪ adequately, properly

▪

The product had not been adequately tested before being put on the market.

▪ extensively, fully, rigorously, thoroughly

▪ systematically

▪ periodically, regularly, routinely

▪

You should test your brakes regularly.

▪ independently, individually, separately

▪ simultaneously

▪ formally

▪ successfully

▪

The exercise successfully tested the procedures for dealing with a serious oil spillage.

▪ clinically

▪ empirically, experimentally, scientifically

▪

the importance of empirically tested research

▪ statistically

▪ out

▪

a good way to test out his hypothesis

VERB + TEST

▪ decide to

▪

We decided to test the theory experimentally.

▪ attempt to, seek to, try to

▪ be designed to, be intended to

▪ be used to

▪ be difficult to

▪

It is difficult to test a potential cure when a disease is ill-defined.

PREPOSITION

▪ for

▪

Squeeze the fruit to test for ripeness.

▪ on

▪

We only sell products that have not been tested on animals.

PHRASES

▪ get sth tested, have sth tested

▪

I'm having my eyes tested this week.

▪ test negative/positive

▪

Two of the athletes tested positive for illegal drugs.

▪ test sth to the limit

▪

The training tested his body to the very limit.

▪ tried and tested

▪

tried and tested techniques

2 require all sb's strength, ability, resources, etc.

ADVERB

▪ seriously, severely, sorely

▪

Neither player was seriously tested in the contest.

▪

There were times when my temper was sorely tested.

Test is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑researcher

Test is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ability, ↑accuracy, ↑alarm, ↑approach, ↑assumption, ↑authenticity, ↑bomb, ↑device, ↑drug, ↑effect, ↑effectiveness, ↑efficiency, ↑endurance, ↑equipment, ↑eye, ↑feasibility, ↑hypothesis, ↑idea, ↑knowledge, ↑limit, ↑loyalty, ↑microphone, ↑missile, ↑patience, ↑possibility, ↑prediction, ↑product, ↑proposition, ↑prototype, ↑quality, ↑reflex, ↑sample, ↑skill, ↑strain, ↑strength, ↑suitability, ↑system, ↑theory, ↑validity, ↑viability