ex ‧ plor ‧ a ‧ to ‧ ry /ɪkˈsplɒrət ə ri $ ɪkˈsplɔːrətɔːri/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ exploration , ↑ explorer ; adjective : ↑ exploratory , ↑ unexplored ; verb : ↑ explore ]
done in order to find out more about something:
He’s going to have exploratory surgery on his knee.