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

Other Chinese firms on the list include search engine platform Baidu, electric car marker Nio and aircraft manufacturer Comac.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026

The company never created its own search engine, relying on Google to power search across its devices.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

The operator of China’s dominant search engine beat analysts’ estimates for adjusted net income in the first quarter.

From Barron's • May 18, 2026

It had been the Amsterdam-based holding company that owned Russia’s Yandex, a tech conglomerate with a search engine, a cloud-computing arm and a ride-hailing service.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

“It got a lot better after Jessie fiddled with it,” Angie said, pulling up the Internet search engine, which opened at once.

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