search engine

[ surch en-juhn ]

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.

search engine

noun

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

search engine

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of search engine¹

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

Google’s John Mueller posted 12 tips and more on how to optimize your images for search engines.

From Search Engine Land

So while you may have assiduously compiled a list of the most relevant keywords, it’s unlikely that they’ll dominate search engines within a few months.

From Search Engine Watch

If you take the time and put a little extra effort into properly optimizing your site’s images for both users and search engines every time you add an image to your website, you can give your pages a little extra edge in the search engines.

From Search Engine Watch

An external link is a source of free traffic for your website and is a crucial element of Google’s search engine algorithm.

From Search Engine Watch

This needs to change, and in order for that to happen, we need to stop thinking of Google as a search engine.

From Search Engine Watch

They not only disrupted service in China, they apparently crashed the search engine worldwide.

From The Daily Beast

But what started out as a search engine has evolved into a search-and-destroy machine.

From The Daily Beast

Revenge, it seems, is a dish best served through search engine optimization.

From The Daily Beast

We make things easier for the people as well as the search engine.

From The Daily Beast

I doubt the company wants to risk millions of people taking their search engine relationship elsewhere.

From The Daily Beast

He did not need an Intel inside computer or search engine to find what he wanted.

From Project Gutenberg