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

In turn, CoreWeave will roll out Perplexity Enterprise Max, the search engine’s most advanced enterprise product, for employees across its organization.

From Barron's

As Gabi opens the search engine on her computer, I find myself thinking about Bubbe and why she might have this newspaper page in her box, hidden even more deeply than the rest.

From Literature

Some newsrooms see an existential threat from the rise of chatbots and AI-powered search engines that answer users’ questions without requiring them to click on article links.

From The Wall Street Journal

Regan yelled after me, but I ignored her as I quickly typed a few key words into the computer’s state-of-the-art history search engine.

From Literature

“IT’S A NIGHTMARE,” Alex groaned, keying in Travel Agents in the Internet search engine.

From Literature