Other forms: inspected, inspecting, inspects
To inspect something is to look at it closely to check that it is right. Not glance — go over it properly.
It implies authority or care, so a landlord inspects a property and an officer inspects the troops. The word also covers the private version, since you inspect a second-hand car before buying it. The noun is inspection and the person is an inspector. Examine is the near synonym, and it belongs more to doctors and students, while inspect belongs to standards and condition.
1verbinspectTo examine something carefully to check its condition or correctness.
“He inspected the tyres before setting off.”
To inspect is to look into: Latin in, in, plus speciō, to look at. It is the same speciō that stands behind spectacle.
Proto-Indo-European
*speḱ-
Latin
inspectum
English, today
inspect
Built from
From Latin inspectum, past participle of inspicio (“to look into”), from in (“in”) + specio (“to look at”), equivalent to in + spect.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA