quiz Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an examination consisting of a few short questions
  2. verb examine someone's knowledge of something
    test.
    • The teacher tests us every week
    • We got quizzed on French irregular verbs

WordNet

Quiz noun
Etymology
It is said that Daly, the manager of a Dublin playhouse, laid a wager that a new word of no meaning should be the common talk and puzzle of the city in twenty-fours. In consequence of this the letters q u i z were chalked by him on all the walls of Dublin, with an effect that won the wager. Perhaps, however, originally a variant of whiz, and formerly the name of a popular game.
Definitions
  1. A riddle or obscure question; an enigma; a ridiculous hoax.
  2. One who quizzes others; as, he is a great quiz.
  3. An odd or absurd fellow. Smart. Thackeray.
  4. An exercise, or a course of exercises, conducted as a coaching or as an examination. Cant, U.S.
Quiz transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Quizzed ; present participle & verbal noun Quizzing
Definitions
  1. To puzzle; to banter; to chaff or mock with pretended seriousness of discourse; to make sport of, as by obscure questions.
    He quizzed unmercifully all the men in the room. Thackeray.
  2. To peer at; to eye suspiciously or mockingly.
  3. To instruct in or by a quiz. See Quiz, n., 4. U.S.
Quiz intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To conduct a quiz. See Quiz, n., 4. U.S.

Webster 1913