Definition of inquisition

• n. - The act of inquiring; inquiry; search; examination; inspection; investigation.
• n. - Judicial inquiry; official examination; inquest.
• n. - The finding of a jury, especially such a finding under a writ of inquiry.
• n. - A court or tribunal for the examination and punishment of heretics, fully established by Pope Gregory IX. in 1235. Its operations were chiefly confined to Spain, Portugal, and their dependencies, and a part of Italy.
• v. t. - To make inquisistion concerning; to inquire into.