search engine

American  

[surch en-juhn] / ˈsɜrtʃ ˌɛn dʒən /

noun

Digital Technology.

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.

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search engine British  

noun

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

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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.

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Etymology

Origin of search engine

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

I listen to the Search Engine podcast, hosted by PJ Vogt, which I think is great.

From Slate • Mar. 1, 2024

“AI will eliminate the Search Engine Result Page, which is where they make most of their money.”

From Washington Times • Feb. 1, 2023

Epstein, a former Psychology Today editor in chief who runs a nonprofit institute in California, calls the phenomenon he has explored the Search Engine Manipulation Effect.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2019

Democracy Google Is Still Working on China Search Engine, Employees Claim Ryan Gallagher reports that a group of Googlers has found evidence that the company continues to work on a controversial plan to re-enter China.

From The Verge • Mar. 5, 2019

Publishers believe that in this era of Search Engine Optimization, books must have subtitles, whether superfluous or not, and the more wordy the better.

From Washington Post • Nov. 15, 2018