investigate
verb
uk/ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪt/ us [ I or T ]
to examine a crime, problem, statement, etc. carefully, especially to discover the truth:
The FBI was called in to investigate.
Detectives will continue to investigate the incident.
investigate allegations/claims/complaints of sth The office is investigating the allegations of embezzlement.
investigate how/whether/why The commission will investigate whether these companies violated anti-trust laws.
[ T ]
to try to discover the truth about someone who is accused of a crime:
investigate sb for sth The IRS are investigating Williams for alleged tax fraud.
investigator
noun [ C ]
Investigators discovered that the bank had covered up massive bad loans.