Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: Latin exemplum, from eximere 'to take out'

example

 noun
     
ex‧am‧ple S1 W1 [countable]
1 a specific fact, idea, person, or thing that is used to explain or support a general idea, or to show what is typical of a larger group
example of
Can anyone give me an example of a transitive verb?
good/typical/prime/classic etc example
This church is a good example of Gothic architecture.
She cited a number of recent examples to support her theory.
Certain life events have to be registered by law. The most obvious examples are births, marriages and deaths.
2

for example

used before mentioning a specific thing, person, place etc in order to explain what you mean or to support an argument:
Many countries, for example Mexico and Japan, have a lot of earthquakes.
Car prices can vary a lot. For example, in Belgium the VW Golf costs $1000 less than in Britain.
3 someone whose behaviour is very good and should be copied by others, or this type of behaviour
example to
Her courage is an example to us all.
Parents should set an example for their children.
I suggest you follow Rosie's example (=copy her behaviour) and start doing regular exercise.
The team captain leads by example.
She's a shining example (=a very good example) of what a mother should be.
4

make an example of somebody

to punish someone so that other people are afraid to do the same thing
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
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