Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Origin: empiric 'person who puts trust only in practical experience' (16-21 centuries), from Latin empiricus, from Greek empeiria 'experience'

empirical

 adjective
     
em‧pir‧i‧cal [only before noun]
based on scientific testing or practical experience, not on ideas [≠ theoretical, hypothetical]:
—empirically adverb
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary