examiner

examiner — noun

1. someone responsible for reading exam answers, assigning a grade, or writing the

1.nounB1
Definition

someone responsible for reading exam answers, assigning a grade, or writing the questions for a test

Example

The examiner marked Andrés's essay and gave him a score of 85 out of 100.

examiner + mark/give a score — typical academic context

Ryo was nervous because the examiner sat at the front watching everyone write.

examiner in invigilation role — watching during test

Common collocations
  • mark an exam
  • grade a paper
  • exam results
  • test score
  • exam paper
  • answer sheet
Synonyms
  • marker

    focuses specifically on grading, does not include invigilation or writing exam questions

  • assessor

    broader term used in professional certification contexts, not limited to school exams

  • grader

    American English, slightly informal, used mainly for school and university assignments

  • invigilator

    only supervises the exam room; does not write or grade the test

Usage Note

Frequently used in academic settings to refer to the person who grades exam papers or supervises the test room. The same person may serve both roles, but in large exams the marker and the invigilator are often different people.

Common Mistakes

The examiner visited the factory to check for safety problems.
The inspector visited the factory to check for safety problems.
sense 1 is for academic marking/invigilation; sense 2 is for official inspections.

2. an official whose job is to visit a place, check documents, or investigate wheth

2.nounB2
Definition

an official whose job is to visit a place, check documents, or investigate whether rules and standards are being followed correctly

Example

A health and safety examiner visited the factory and found several problems with the equipment.

health and safety examiner — common compound job title in inspection contexts

The insurance company sent an examiner to look at the damage after the storm.

Common collocations
  • conduct an inspection
  • file a report
  • safety standards
  • financial records
  • insurance claim
  • government regulation
Synonyms
  • inspector

    very close in meaning; often interchangeable, though 'inspector' may feel broader or more generic

  • auditor

    used specifically for financial records and formal accounting checks

  • investigator

    broader and more serious, often used in legal or criminal contexts

  • reviewer

    less formal, less official; can refer to anyone who examines documents

Usage Note

Subject is usually modified by a preceding noun or adjective that specifies the area of inspection, such as 'bank examiner', 'claim examiner', 'medical examiner', or 'insurance examiner'. The sense is always formal and linked to official duties rather than education.

Common Mistakes

The examiner gave everyone a low score on the test.
The inspector checked the building for fire safety issues.
sense 2 is not about grading exams; reserve 'examiner' in sense 2 for official inspections.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to people involved in testing, but they highlight different roles. A 'marker' reads answers and assigns a score — the core of sense 1. An 'assessor' is a broader term used in professional or workplace evaluations, not just school tests. 'Grader' is chiefly American English and slightly informal, common for school assignments but less often used for formal public exams. An 'invigilator' (British English) or 'proctor' (American English) supervises the exam room to prevent cheating but does not grade the work. For example, a teacher might be the marker of an essay and also the invigilator of the same exam, but the two tasks are distinct.

marker ↗assessorgrader ↗invigilator

Common collocations

Nouns

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'examiner' comes from the Latin verb 'examinare', meaning 'to weigh, to consider carefully', via Old French 'examiner' and Anglo-Norman 'examinour'. The '-er' suffix marks the person who performs the action. The sense of formal testing (sense 1) developed in the 17th century with the rise of public examinations, while the inspection sense (sense 2) emerged even earlier in legal and administrative contexts.