1. A person who asks questions: This is the most common meaning. An inquirer is someone who is curious and seeks information by asking questions. They could be a journalist, a student, a customer service representative, or anyone else who wants to learn more about something.
2. A publication that investigates and reports news: This meaning is often used for newspapers and online publications that focus on investigative journalism and in-depth reporting. Examples include the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Washington Inquirer, and many others.
3. A software program that queries a database: In the context of computers, an "inquirer" can refer to a software program that interacts with a database to retrieve information. This is a more technical definition and is less commonly used in everyday conversation.
Here are some examples of how "inquirer" might be used in a sentence:
* "The inquirer asked the politician a series of tough questions."
* "The Inquirer published a groundbreaking exposé on corruption in the city government."
* "The database inquirer retrieved all the customer records from the past year."
To understand the meaning of "inquirer" in a specific context, you need to consider the surrounding words and the overall meaning of the sentence.