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  • strip search
    strip search
    noun
    an act or instance of strip-searching.
  • strip-search
    strip-search
    verb (used with object)
    to search (a suspect who has been required to remove all clothing) especially for concealed weapons, contraband, or evidence of drug abuse.

strip search

1 American  

noun

  1. an act or instance of strip-searching.


strip-search 2 American  
[strip-surch] / ˈstrɪpˌsɜrtʃ /

verb (used with object)

  1. to search (a suspect who has been required to remove all clothing) especially for concealed weapons, contraband, or evidence of drug abuse.


strip-search British  

verb

  1. (tr) (of police, customs officials, etc) to strip (a prisoner or suspect) naked to search him or her for contraband, narcotics, etc

"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

noun

  1. a search that involves stripping a person naked

"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

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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.

See Examples For:

According to reporting by Puck, it would have emphasized Michael’s “traumatizing” strip search, thus doubling down on a strategy that has worked so far: Making him the victim.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

The report also recommended a major overhaul of the way the force uses strip search and intimate body searches.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2024

“A police power that is as intrusive and traumatic for children as a strip search must be treated with the utmost care and responsibility,” said Commissioner Rachel de Souza, who published the report Monday.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 9, 2022

“Forget the strip search for a minute, she’s not charged with that,” said Corey Chirafisi, Casper’s attorney.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 22, 2022

“They have other officers who can conduct and observe the strip search, but they made a choice they didn’t have to make, which says a lot about their attitudes toward incarcerated people.”

From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2021

The trust called for removing police from schools and revoking their authority to strip-search children.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 26, 2023

The London police force said it has made changes such as raising the level of approval necessary before an officer initiates such a strip-search and launching a review of its policy for searching minors.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 9, 2022

“A police power that is as intrusive and traumatic for children as a strip-search must be treated with the utmost care and responsibility,” she said, calling the report’s findings “deeply concerning.”

From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2022

The guidance follows the 2020 strip-search of a 15-year-old girl, known as Child Q, in an east London school.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2022

“If you get changed out of your strip-search clothes, we can walk on the beach before dinner,” she said.

From "Winger" by Andrew Smith

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