rummage
Americanverb (used with object)
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to search thoroughly or actively through (a place, receptacle, etc.), especially by moving around, turning over, or looking through contents.
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to find, bring, or fetch by searching (often followed by out orup ).
verb (used without object)
noun
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miscellaneous articles; odds and ends.
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a rummaging search.
verb
noun
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an act of rummaging
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a jumble of articles
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obsolete confusion or bustle
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rummage
1520–30; aphetic alteration of Middle French arrumage, equivalent to arrum ( er ) to stow goods in the hold of a ship (< ?) + -age -age
Explanation
Rummage means to search for something, but in a scattered, disorganized manner. You can rummage through your drawer looking for a lost sock, or you could even hold "a rummage sale" to sell off all your socks that are missing their mates. Ahoy, mateys: the word rummage hails from a sea-faring background. The Middle Dutch ruim, Germanic rum, and Old English rum all referred to a compartment on a ship, probably stemming from the Middle French verb arrumer, "to stow goods in the hold of a ship." The idea of rummaging as searching was first recorded in the 1620s. The first rummage sale also had its ship connection, as it was a sale on the docks of unclaimed items.
Vocabulary lists containing rummage
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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The Hate U Give
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
General warrants and writs of assistance enraged the colonies precisely because they allowed British officials to rummage through homes and businesses without individualized suspicion.
From Slate • May 20, 2026
The Dominican nuns who run the kitchen prepare food for about 80 elderly or destitute people -- growing numbers of Cubans are forced to rummage through garbage bins for food -- each day.
From Barron's • Feb. 11, 2026
Some sections developed their own microclimates due to the flow of air conditioning, forcing delegates to rummage around for jackets to keep warm.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
"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 • Aug. 16, 2025
Franny brought her handbag up to table level, opened it, and began to rummage through it.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
