inquest

inquest — noun

1. a formal legal hearing, usually led by a coroner and sometimes involving a jury,

1.nounB2
Definition

a formal legal hearing, usually led by a coroner and sometimes involving a jury, that examines the facts around a sudden or suspicious death to determine how the person died.

Example

After the factory fire, the coroner opened an inquest into the deaths of three workers.

collocation: open an inquest into + noun

The inquest jury heard that the old bridge collapsed because of rusted steel cables.

Common collocations
  • open an inquest
  • hold an inquest
  • inquest jury
  • inquest into
  • coroner's inquest
  • inquest hearing
Synonyms
  • inquiry

    a broader term — inquiry can be any systematic search for information, not necessarily a formal legal process about a death

  • investigation

    more general — used by police, journalists, or officials without the specific legal framework of an inquest

  • post-mortem

    refers to the medical examination of the body, which may be part of an inquest but is not the hearing itself

Grammar Patterns

hold/open an inquest

inquest into/on + noun

Common Mistakes

The doctor performed an inquest on the patient.
The coroner held an inquest into the patient's death.
An inquest is a legal hearing, not a medical procedure; only a coroner or official body can hold one.

2. a critical discussion or examination of the reasons behind a significant failure

2.nounC1
Definition

a critical discussion or examination of the reasons behind a significant failure, especially in sports, business, or politics, to identify what went wrong.

Example

After ten straight losses, the coach called for an inquest into the team's poor performance.

figurative use: call for an inquest — review after a failure

The company held a private inquest into why their new product had sold so poorly.

Common collocations
  • demand an inquest
  • call for an inquest
  • hold an inquest
  • inquest into
  • private inquest
Synonyms
  • review

    less dramatic and less formal — review can be routine, while inquest suggests serious failure

  • post-mortem

    also a figurative extension; very similar in tone and use, common in tech and business

  • debriefing

    focuses on gathering information after an event rather than assigning blame

Grammar Patterns

inquest into + noun

hold an inquest

demand an inquest

Usage Note

Frequently used figuratively in sports, business, and political contexts. Unlike sense 1, this sense does not refer to a legal proceeding; it is a metaphorical extension of the legal term.

Common Mistakes

The losing team held an inquest with the referee after the match.
The losing team held an inquest into their own poor performance.
An inquest examines the team's own failings, not a dispute with an outside party.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

An inquest is a formal legal hearing, typically led by a coroner with a jury, to determine the cause of a suspicious or unexpected death. An inquiry is a broader, more general term — it can describe any systematic search for information, from a government commission to a school's internal fact-finding. An investigation is a detailed, methodical examination of facts, often conducted by police, journalists, or regulators; unlike an inquest, it does not require a legal hearing. Autopsy and post-mortem refer specifically to the medical examination of a body after death — this may provide evidence used in an inquest but is not the hearing itself. For example: The coroner opened an inquest into the suspicious death, while the police conducted their own criminal investigation separately. The autopsy report was presented as evidence during the inquest.

inquiry ↗investigation ↗autopsypost-mortem

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • hold an inquest
  • open an inquest
  • demand an inquest
  • call for an inquest

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchAnglo-NormanEnglish

Comes from Old French 'enqueste', meaning 'a search or inquiry'. The French word came from Latin 'in-' (into) plus 'quaerere' (to ask or seek). In English law, the meaning gradually narrowed from any official inquiry to a specific legal hearing into the cause of a death.