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definitions

search engine

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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.

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RELATED WORDS

browser, portal

Nearby words

  1. seaq,
  2. seaquake,
  3. sear,
  4. search,
  5. search dog,
  6. search engine optimization,
  7. search me,
  8. search order,
  9. search party,
  10. search term

Origin of search engine

1990–95
Also called retrieval engine.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for search engine

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
Culture definitions for search engine

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.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.