top definitions
quizzes
related content
examples
explore dictionary
british
idioms and phrases

search

[ surch ]

/ sɜrtʃ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR search ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to go or look through (a place, area, etc.) carefully in order to find something missing or lost: They searched the woods for the missing child. I searched the desk for the letter.

to look at or examine (a person, object, etc.) carefully in order to find something concealed: He searched the vase for signs of a crack. The police searched the suspect for weapons.

to explore or examine in order to discover: They searched the hills for gold.

to look at, read, or examine (a record, writing, collection, repository, etc.) for information: to search a property title; He searched the courthouse for a record of the deed to the land.

to look at or beneath the superficial aspects of to discover a motive, reaction, feeling, basic truth, etc.: He searched her face for a clue to her true feelings.

to look into, question, or scrutinize: She searched her conscience.

(of natural elements) to pierce or penetrate: The sunlight searched the room's dark corners.

to uncover or find by examination or exploration (often followed by out): to search out all the facts.

Military. to fire artillery over (an area) with successive changes in gun elevation.

Computers. to electronically retrieve data, Web pages, database records, or other information from (files, databases, etc.) by typing relevant terms into a search engine or other search tool: Most of us have searched the Internet for medical advice.

verb (used without object)

to inquire, investigate, examine, or seek; conduct an examination or investigation.

noun

the act of searching; careful examination or investigation: Her date with the guy she met online went badly, so her search for “Mr. Right” continues.
an instance of this: Did the search turn up any clues?

the practice, on the part of naval officers of a belligerent nation, of boarding and examining a suspected neutral vessel at sea in order to ascertain its true nationality and determine if it is carrying contraband: the right of visit and search.

Computers. the act or process of electronically retrieving data, Web pages, database records, or other information from files, databases, etc., as in Boolean search; keyword search: A search of the article turned up two references to my company.

VIDEO FOR SEARCH

WATCH NOW: Did You Mean To Look Up "Search" On Dictionary.com?

It’s OK, we’ve all been here. Search is actually one of our most searched words! Stick around to find out why it's one of our favorite words!

MORE VIDEOS FROM DICTIONARY.COM

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!

Question 1 of 7

anchorite

a granular metamorphic rock.

a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.

a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms for search

search me, I don't know: Why has it taken so long to reach a decision? Search me.

Origin of search

1300–50; (v.) Middle English serchen, cerchen (< Anglo-French sercher) < Old French cerchier < Late Latin circāre to go around, derivative of Latin circus circle; (noun) Middle English serche < Anglo-French serche, Old French cerche, derivative of cerchier

SYNONYMS FOR search

12 inspection, scrutiny.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR search ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM search

search·a·ble, adjectivesearch·a·ble·ness, nounsearch·er, nounout·search, verb (used with object)

pre·search, noun, verb (used with object)un·der·search, nounun·searched, adjectivewell-searched, adjective

Words nearby search

seaplane, seaport, seaq, seaquake, sear, search, search dog, search engine, search engine optimization, search me, search order

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for search

In my search for answers about who I was, I pored over religious texts in search of enlightenment.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen|Parker Molloy|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
After a hit, they would adjust the search to the most likely route from there.
Exclusive: Inside a Cop-Killer’s Final Hours|Michael Daly|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The ATSB has been impressive in the way it has taken over the direction of the search for Flight 370.
Who Will Get AsiaAir 8501’s Black Boxes?|Clive Irving|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Search teams find dozens of people and jet debris floating in the Java Sea, as the airline confirms the wreckage is from QZ8501.
Wreckage, Bodies of AirAsia Crash Found|Lennox Samuels|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

We separate the search for justice from the search for truth at our peril.
Bill de Blasio’s Tea Party Problem|Will Cain|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Dacres pleaded so earnestly that he was permitted to go with the small crew in search of the missing man.
The Cruise of the "Lively Bee"|John De Morgan
Search it as they pleased, not even the practisect eye of Captain Davis could descry the smallest interruption.
The Ebb-Tide|Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyde Osbourne
It is not here, but in the pages of his Journal for ten years before, that we must search for the secret of d'Argenson's thought.
The Marquis D'Argenson: A Study in Criticism|Arthur Ogle
First of all, he continued to search through the letters, pocketing those which were obviously bills.
Adrien Leroy|Charles Garvice
Pasteur accompanied by wife and daughter had gone in search of his son, sick at Pontarlier.
An Introduction to the History of Science|Walter Libby

British Dictionary definitions for search

search

/ (sɜːtʃ) /

verb

to look through (a place, records, etc) thoroughly in order to find someone or something

(tr) to examine (a person) for concealed objects by running one's hands over the clothing

to look at or examine (something) closelyto search one's conscience

(tr foll by out) to discover by investigation

surgery

to explore (a bodily cavity) during a surgical procedure
to probe (a wound)

(tr) military to fire all over (an area)

computing to review (a file) to locate specific information

archaic to penetrate

search me informal I don't know

noun

the act or an instance of searching

the examination of a vessel by the right of search

computing

a review of a file to locate specific information
(as modifier)a search routine

right of search international law the right possessed by the warships of a belligerent state in time of war to board and search merchant vessels to ascertain whether ship or cargo is liable to seizure

Derived forms of search

searchable, adjectivesearcher, noun

Word Origin for search

C14: from Old French cerchier, from Late Latin circāre to go around, from Latin circus circle

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

Idioms and Phrases with search

search

In addition to the idiom beginning with search

search me

also see:

high and low, search
in search of

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

See What People Are Searching