The verb explore has 4 senses (first 3 from tagged texts)
1. (14) research, search, explore -- (inquire into; "the students had to research the history of the Second World War for their history project"; "He searched for information on his relatives on the web"; "Scientists are exploring the nature of consciousness")
2. (4) explore -- (travel to or penetrate into; "explore unknown territory in biology")
3. (2) explore -- (examine minutely)
4. explore -- (examine (organs) for diagnostic purposes)