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

“AI will eliminate the Search Engine Result Page, which is where they make most of their money.”

From Washington Times • Feb. 1, 2023

Epstein, a former Psychology Today editor in chief who runs a nonprofit institute in California, calls the phenomenon he has explored the Search Engine Manipulation Effect.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2019

It even puzzled Bryan Schwartz, a news editor at Search Engine Land.

From Slate • Feb. 20, 2019

Publishers believe that in this era of Search Engine Optimization, books must have subtitles, whether superfluous or not, and the more wordy the better.

From Washington Post • Nov. 15, 2018

Though Search Engine Land, which spotted the new page, notes that it's currently difficult to use for companies with many locations, or data agencies that do this kind of upkeep work on a large scale.

From The Verge • Oct. 21, 2014