experimental
adjective
ex·per·i·men·tal
ik-ˌsper-ə-ˈmen-tᵊl 
also -ˌspir-
1
: of, relating to, or based on experience or experiment
2
a
: serving the ends of or used as a means of experimentation
an experimental school
b
: relating to or having the characteristics of experiment : tentative
still in the experimental stage
Examples of experimental in a Sentence
The fuel is being used on an experimental basis.
an experimental procedure for patients suffering from leukemia
Recent Examples on the Web
Considered by the space agency as a 30-day technology demonstration of no more than five experimental test flights, the 4-pound chopper performed 72 flights for nearly three years at Mars.
—
Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 18 Dec. 2024
The procedures are not directly approved by the Food and Drug Administration, though they are permitted under the agency’s compassionate use provision, allowing patients with life-threatening illnesses to seek experimental treatments.
—Ty Roush, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
Looney tried other experimental procedures before this, but nothing worked.
—Rob Stein, NPR, 17 Dec. 2024
Her doctor, Jayme Locke, then an abdominal transplant surgeon at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, had previously led short-term pig kidney transplants in brain-dead recipients and suggested the experimental procedure as a last resort.
—Emily Mullin, WIRED, 17 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for experimental 
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Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 18 Dec. 2024
The procedures are not directly approved by the Food and Drug Administration, though they are permitted under the agency’s compassionate use provision, allowing patients with life-threatening illnesses to seek experimental treatments.
—Ty Roush, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
Looney tried other experimental procedures before this, but nothing worked.
—Rob Stein, NPR, 17 Dec. 2024
Her doctor, Jayme Locke, then an abdominal transplant surgeon at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, had previously led short-term pig kidney transplants in brain-dead recipients and suggested the experimental procedure as a last resort.
—Emily Mullin, WIRED, 17 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for experimental
Articles Related to experimental
Dictionary Entries Near experimental
Cite this Entry
“Experimental.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/experimental. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
experimental
adjective
ex·per·i·men·tal
ik-ˌsper-ə-ˈment-ᵊl
1
a
: of, relating to, or based on experience or experiment
experimental evidence
b
: subjected to the condition that is different from normal for a factor being tested in an experiment
the experimental group
2
: relating to or having the characteristics of experiment : tentative sense 1
still in the experimental stage
Medical Definition
experimental
adjective
ex·per·i·men·tal
ik-ˌsper-ə-ˈment-ᵊl also -ˌspir-
1
: of, relating to, or based on experience or experiment
2
: founded on or derived from experiment
the heart of the experimental method is the direct control of the thing studied—B. F. Skinner
B. F. Skinner3
of a disease
: intentionally produced especially in laboratory animals for the purpose of study
experimental diabetes
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