Closely examine

The answer to “Closely examine” in the New York Times crossword is INSPECT — a 7-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on October 11, 2026, a Sunday puzzle, at 47-Down. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Closely examine” answer

INSPECT (7 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is INSPECT.

What does INSPECT mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of INSPECT is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

When else has “Closely examine” appeared?

New York Times reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

October 11, 2026 (most recent) → INSPECT. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

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