rummage

[ruhm-ij]

verb (used with object)

rummaged, rummaging 

1. to search thoroughly or actively through (a place, receptacle, etc.), especially by moving around, turning over, or looking through contents.

2. to find, bring, or fetch by searching (often followed by out orup ).

verb (used without object)

rummaged, rummaging 

1. to search actively, as in a place or receptacle or within oneself.

   She rummaged in her mind for the forgotten name.

noun

1. miscellaneous articles; odds and ends.

2. a rummaging search.

rummage

/ ˈrʌmɪdʒ /

verb

1. to search (through) while looking for something, often causing disorder or confusion

noun

1. an act of rummaging

2. a jumble of articles

3. obsolete,  confusion or bustle

Other Word Forms

• rummager noun
• unrummaged adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rummage¹

1520–30; aphetic alteration of Middle French arrumage, equivalent to arrum ( er ) to stow goods in the hold of a ship (< ?) + -age -age

Word History and Origins

Origin of rummage¹

C14 (in the sense: to pack a cargo): from Old French arrumage , from arrumer to stow in a ship's hold, probably of Germanic origin

Example Sentences

On Aug. 21, she and her cub broke into a home on Butler Avenue in South Lake Tahoe and accidentally lighted a burner on the gas stove while rummaging through the kitchen.

From Los Angeles Times

He’d rummage for wood scraps behind a neighborhood factory with his brother and make toy cars and bows from reeds they collected.

From Los Angeles Times

"The kids are not going to rummage around and look at use by dates, but if it's at the front I know that's the one that needs using first."

From BBC

"With my own eyes, I've seen children rummaging through the garbage in search of food scraps," she added.

From BBC

Feitó-Cabrera made the comments earlier this week at a session of the National Assembly, in which she spoke about people begging and rummaging through dustbins in Cuba.

From BBC

Related Words

• comb 
• forage 
• poke 
• scour