rummage

[ruhm-ij]

See more synonyms for rummage on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), rum·maged, rum·mag·ing.

to search thoroughly or actively through (a place, receptacle, etc.), especially by moving around, turning over, or looking through contents.
to find, bring, or fetch by searching (often followed by out or up).

verb (used without object), rum·maged, rum·mag·ing.

to search actively, as in a place or receptacle or within oneself: She rummaged in her mind for the forgotten name.

noun

miscellaneous articles; odds and ends.
a rummaging search.

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

Related formsrum·mag·er, nounun·rum·maged, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for rummage

comb, forage, poke, scour, jumble, spy, disturb, rake, disarray, grub, toss, seek, hunt, disorganize, explore, root, examine, shake, disorder, delve

Examples from the Web for rummage

Contemporary Examples of rummage

Another leaned forward at that point to rummage in her bag for a mint.
George Zimmerman Trial: The Prosecution’s Dramatic Closing Arguments
Jacqui Goddard
July 11, 2013
Malamo Voulgaropoulou, a former singer now in her 80s, is one of many pensioners who rummage through dumpsters for food.
Greece on the Brink of Financial Abyss as Syriza Party Weighs Default
John Psaropoulos
May 12, 2012
Previously, Anderson had enraged Hoover by assigning a reporter to rummage through his trash at home.
Hoover’s Secret Files
Ronald Kessler
August 2, 2011

Historical Examples of rummage

I want to rummage over my thoughts and see whether some of them are to be abandoned or not.'
A Woman Intervenes
Robert Barr
After the action we went to rummage a sort of camp, which they had left behind them.
The Jest Book
Mark Lemon
So I had to rummage through the refrigerator and use my own judgment.
The Wall Between
Sara Ware Bassett
She had to rummage her memory awhile to discover just what it was.
The Faith Doctor
Edward Eggleston
Did I ever walk into your house to pry and rummage, and tell you that your things were no use?
A Little Country Girl
Susan Coolidge

British Dictionary definitions for rummage

rummage

verb

(when intr , often foll by through) to search (through) while looking for something, often causing disorder or confusion

noun

an act of rummaging
a jumble of articles
obsolete confusion or bustle

Derived Formsrummager, noun

Word Origin for rummage

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for rummage

1540s, "arrange (cargo) in a ship," from rummage (n.), 1520s, "act of arranging cargo in a ship," a shortening of Middle French arrumage "arrangement of cargo," from arrumer "to stow goods in the hold of a ship," from a- "to" + rumer, probably from Germanic (cf. Old Norse rum "compartment in a ship," Old High German rum "space," Old English rum; see room (n.)). Or else from English room (n.) + -age.

Meaning "to search closely (the hold of a ship), especially by moving things about" first recorded 1610s. Related: Rummaged; rummaging. Rummage sale (1803) originally was a sale at docks of unclaimed goods.