laboratory test

noun

variants or lab test

: a test conducted under controlled scientific conditions in a laboratory or similar setting

… in laboratory tests of acyclovir, herpes strains have mutated to forms resistant to the drug.

—Linda Garmon

We've measured the amount of soap in shampoos and used lab tests to determine cleaning action and pH.

—Consumer Reports

specifically, medical : a test (such as a blood test or urinalysis procedure) performed by a medical laboratory on a specimen taken from a patient

Even experienced doctors cannot distinguish "strep" throat from other-caused sore throats without a laboratory test of fluid taken from the throat.

—Melva Weber

Those two values are seen with a complete blood count, the lab test that enumerates the number of white and red blood cells.

—Paul G. Donahue

laboratory testing noun

or less commonly lab testing

… it has survived nearly two years of strenuous independent laboratory testing and been certified safe for home and commercial use.

—Harper's

Examples of laboratory test in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

May 15, 2026The Africa CDC confirms an Ebola outbreak in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and laboratory tests confirm the outbreak is of the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no vaccine. —Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026

In laboratory tests, the surface reached temperatures of around 73 °C (163 °F), roughly 52 °C above ambient. —New Atlas, 25 May 2026

In trials, the handheld device proved about 10,000 times more sensitive than the standard laboratory test (ELISA) at spotting early-stage lung cancer biomarkers. —Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 25 May 2026

Eight cases have been confirmed by laboratory tests. —ABC News, 13 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for laboratory test

• abreast
• accessed
• addressed
• appressed
• armrest
• arrest
• assessed
• attest
• backrest
• behest
• bequest
• caressed