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

The search engine and cloud computing company is expected to spend the money raised on building data centers that feature its own custom chips, which Broadcom helps design.

From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026

The dashboard includes a search engine to find violations tied to specific addresses, as well as a map showing more than 44,000 properties with complaints against them.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

Yet that same drive helped the company evolve from a search engine into a digital powerhouse spanning advertising, shopping, payments and paid content in South Korea.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026

The European Union is asking Google to share its search engine data with competitors.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 16, 2026

She goes back to her book, and when the computer is ready, I open up a search engine.

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements