Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

search party

American  

noun

  1. a group of persons conducting an organized search for someone or something lost or hidden.

search party British  

noun

  1. a group of people taking part in an organized search, as for a lost, missing, or wanted person

"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

Etymology

Origin of search party

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The human search party arrived, following the beacon of Clare’s fire smoke.

From Literature

By tonight or surely by the next morning, when I didn't check in at Koyuk, a search party would be sent out to look for us.

From Literature

Some of those volunteers had joined the search party after seeing videos posted by a local filmmaker who was closely following the case, the ABC reported.

From BBC

Half a year on from the fatal shooting, search parties are still scouring the mountainous ranges surrounding the small Australian town of Porepunkah to find him.

From BBC

He turned away from the map and began barking orders into a two-way radio, directing a search party to head immediately for Fish Head Bay.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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