search engine

American  

[surch en-juhn] / ˈsɜrtʃ ˌɛn dʒən /

noun

Digital Technology.

• search engines
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• search engines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of search engine

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

search engine

Mahaney said that although OpenAI’s ChatGPT “remains the clear long-term share gainer,” according to the survey, it has fallen from its August 2025 peak of 13% of respondents selecting it as their primary search engine.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

The search engine was also the top choice across all age groups, the survey found.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

Perhaps its best business has been collecting over $20 billion annually from Google to make the search engine the default in Apple’s Safari browser.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Links to the chats, some of which included personal and work information, would show up if a user of a search engine like Google used a site-specific search term.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Her hair still smelled like french fries from the restaurant, and she tied it back as she opened her search engine.

From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway