n. The act of inquiring; close search or examination; investigation; inquiry.n. In law: Inquiry by a jury impaneled by the sheriff, a coroner, or a board of commissioners, to ascertain facts necessary for judicial or legal purposes other than the trial of an action.n. The document embodying the result of such inquiry.n. [capitalized] In the Roman Catholic Church, an ecclesiastical court, officially styled the Holy Office, for the suppression of heresy by the detection and punishment of heretics and by other means.To subject to inquisition or inquiry; investigate.