search engine

American  

[surch en-juhn] / ˈsɜrtʃ ˌɛn dʒən /

noun

Digital Technology.

• search engines
  plural

1. a computer program that searches documents, especially on the World Wide Web, for a specified word or words and provides a list of documents in which they are found.

---

search engine British  

noun

1. computing a service provided on the internet enabling users to search for items of interest

---

search engine Cultural  

1. Web sites or software that search the Internet for documents that contain a key word, phrase, or subject that is specified by the user to the search engine. Each engine has its own method of searching for information.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• search engines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of search engine

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

search engine

The European Parliament just switched its default search provider to a French service, called Qwant, to reduce reliance on American technology — but the search engine turns to Microsoft Bing for much of its results.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Links to the chats, some of which included personal and work information, would show up if a user of a search engine like Google used a site-specific search term.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

It alleged Google pressured phone makers using Android to pre-install its search engine and Google Chrome browser -- essentially shutting out rivals.

From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026

The EU said Google abused its market dominance as a search engine by promoting its own comparison-shopping service in search results and demoting those of competitors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

She opened up the search engine on Mama’s smartphone and scrolled through some recipes on the cooking website they liked to use.

From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser