search engine

See more synonyms for search engine on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

Origin of search engine

1990–95

Also called retrieval engine.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for search engine

browser, portal

Examples from the Web for search engine

Contemporary Examples of search engine

Danny Sullivan, a self-described “search-engine guru” and editor of Search Engine Land, says yes.
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s ... Facebook
Sam Schlinkert
January 15, 2013
Their version of journalism is to focus on things like “keyword density” and search-engine optimization.
AOL's Tricky HuffPo Marriage
Dan Lyons
February 7, 2011

British Dictionary definitions for search engine

search engine

noun

computing a service provided on the internet enabling users to search for items of interest

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

search engine in Culture

search engine

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.