Being in the software industry, we have to encounter the word TEST many times. Though we have our own specific meaning of the word TEST, we have collected here some definitions of the word as provided by various dictionaries and other tidbits. The word TEST can be a Noun, a Verb or an Adjective but the definitions here are only of the Noun form.
DEFINITION OF TEST
Google Dictionary:
A Test is a deliberate action or experiment to find out how well something works.
Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary:
A Test is an act of using something to find out whether it is working correctly or how effective it is.
The Free Dictionary by Farlex:
A Test is a procedure for critical evaluation; a means of determining the presence, quality, or truth of something.
Meriam Webster:
A Test is a critical examination, observation, or evaluation.
Dictionary.com:
A Test is the means by which the presence, quality, or genuineness of anything is determined.
WordWeb:
A Test is trying something to find out about it.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English:
A Test is a process used to discover whether equipment or a product works correctly, or to discover more about it.
ETYMOLOGY OF TEST
Online Etymology Dictionary:
TEST – late 14c., “small vessel used in assaying precious metals,” from O.Fr. test, from L. testum “earthen pot,” related to testa “piece of burned clay, earthen pot, shell” (cf. L. testudo “tortoise”) and textere “to weave” (cf. Lith. tistas “vessel made of willow twigs;” see texture). Sense of “trial or examination to determine the correctness of something” is recorded from 1594. The verb in this sense is from 1748. The connecting notion is “ascertaining the quality of a metal by melting it in a pot.”
SYNONYMS OF TEST:
If the word TEST has been nauseating you because of its being overused, try the following synonyms:
- Analysis
- Assessment
- Attempt
- Check
- Confirmation
- Evaluation
- Examination
- Experiment
- Inquiry
- Inspection
- Investigation
- Scrutiny
- Trial
- Verification
This is really lame – just a bunch of random definitions? How does the word Test specifically relate to Software Testing?
Well, we believe “TESTING” is a superset of “SOFTWARE TESTING” and we thought understanding how the broader term ‘testing’ is defined might help us understand and relate to the specific meaning of the term ‘software testing’.
Test is a phase where group of people perform some operations before it is available in market
Testing is one, where we can evaluate the actual and expected results.
Testing is the process of analysing a software item to detect the differences between existing and required conditions (that is defects/errors/bugs) and to evaluate the features of the software item.