search engine

American

[surch en-juhn] / ˈsɜrtʃ ˌɛn dʒən /

noun

Digital Technology.

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.

search engine British

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 Cultural

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.

Etymology

Origin of search engine

First recorded in 1990–95

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.

Through methods like search engine optimization and other nifty page-ranking subterfuge, this nonverified content climbs to the top of search results and people’s consciousness.

From Slate • Mar. 28, 2026

Its unlimited device support and bundled extras, including antivirus, data breach alerts and a private search engine, make it a cost-effective all-in-one solution.

From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026

Some are using ChatGPT as a glorified search engine.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

CoreWeave jumps after announcing a multi-year partnership with AI search engine Perplexity.

From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026

He went online, cranked up a search engine, started browsing.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz

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