investigate into

USAGE SUMMARY

Sentence The phrase "investigate into" is not a particularly good phrase to use in written English.
It is more commonly seen as "investigate" or "investigate into X". For example, "The police are investigating into the theft at the gallery last night."

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

4 human-written examples

The government has so far rejected an offer by the Inter-American Commisendn on Human Righteamofsexpertseam of experto to Honduras to investigate into the murder of Cáceres and other high-profile activists.

The Guardian

"We will take our time and we will investigate into 30 years of war," he added.

BBC

The same month, the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA), appointed to investigate into the documentary, banned the BBC's radio broadcasts in the country's official language, Kinyarwanda.

Vice

A spokesperson for the Labor Department said by email that the "government and the community will not tolerate any abuse of FDHs, and will thoroughly investigate into all reported cases and promptly take out prosecution if there is sufficient evidence".

Vice

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

56 human-written examples

Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said the military will no longer investigate investigations into sexual orientation based on anonymous complaints, will restrict testimony from third parties and will require high-ranking officers to review all cases.

The Guardian

"The remaining 10 percent is investigated into the next year," he said.

The New York Times

Belichick clearly did some investigating into Smith.

The New York Times - Sports

"We are investigating into it, but I am sure it is those terrorists -- Taliban, Al Qaeda and followers of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar".

The New York Times

Mr. Winnick told Mr. King that there had been "some surprise in the United States but also in Britain that you have a job looking into and investigating into terrorism," according to an account on Salon.com.

The New York Times

The civil rights division can force departments it investigates into court-monitored legal settlements after finding constitutional violations, as it did recently in Cleveland and Ferguson, Missouri.

The Guardian

In the letter, seen by MediaGuardian.co.uk, Ms Boaden says: "I regret the fact that you chose to put a complaint you knew we were investigating into the public domain before we had a chance to get back to you.

The Guardian

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

While "investigate into" is sometimes used, prefer using "investigate" directly followed by the subject of the investigation for clearer and more concise writing.

Common error

Avoid using both "investigate" and "into" together when the intention is simply to examine something. Using "investigate" alone typically suffices and enhances clarity.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "investigate into" functions as a verb phrase used to describe the act of conducting an inquiry or examination. It indicates the action of looking closely into something to discover facts or information. While grammatically functional, Ludwig AI suggests the simpler form "investigate" is often preferred.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

75%

Science

25%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Academia

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "investigate into" is used to describe conducting an inquiry, though Ludwig AI indicates that "investigate" alone is typically clearer and more concise. While grammatically acceptable, it's less preferred in formal writing. The phrase appears primarily in news and media contexts. Related phrases include "look into" and "examine". When writing, using "investigate" directly is often the best practice, avoiding the potential redundancy of including "into".

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

look into

Replaces "investigate" with "look into", offering a more informal alternative. Also it's the most popular alternative of investigate.

examine

A more formal and thorough alternative to "investigate".

probe

Implies a deeper, more thorough investigation, often into sensitive matters.

enquire into

A more formal and British English alternative for "investigate".

delve into

Suggests exploring something in detail, often related to research or analysis.

conduct an inquiry into

A formal phrase emphasizing an official investigation.

carry out investigations into

Emphasizes the act of performing multiple investigations.

analyze

Focuses on a detailed examination of the components of something.

explore

Suggests a broader, less structured form of investigation or discovery.

scrutinize

Implies a close and critical examination, often looking for flaws.

FAQs

What does "investigate into" mean?

The phrase "investigate into" means to conduct a systematic or formal inquiry to discover and examine the facts of an incident, allegation, etc., so as to establish the truth.

Is it grammatically correct to say "investigate into"?

While some sources use "investigate into", it's more common and generally preferred to simply use "investigate" followed by the subject of the investigation. For example, "investigate the matter" is often better than "investigate into the matter".

What are some alternatives to "investigate into"?

Alternatives include "look into", "examine", "probe", or simply "investigate" depending on the context. The simpler "investigate" is often the clearest choice.

When should I use "investigate into" versus just "investigate"?

In most cases, "investigate" is sufficient and more concise. You might use "investigate into" if you want to emphasize the depth or thoroughness of the investigation, but even then, rephrasing to use "investigate" with additional descriptive words (e.g., "investigate thoroughly") is often preferable.