rummage
verb (used with object)
to search thoroughly or actively through (a place, receptacle, etc.), especially by moving around, turning over, or looking through contents.
were rummaging
-
past progressiveof rummage.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Now they were rummaging through Santa Monica Tobacco as though they owned the place.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2020
But, on March 15th, the F.B.I. alerted Coke executives that hackers had broken into their system and were rummaging through e-mails about the negotiation, recording keystrokes, and controlling their computers remotely.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 6, 2020
Fish and Game said in April that it planned to kill the bears that were rummaging for food in unsecured garbage and drawing groups on onlookers in Anchorage’s Government Hill neighborhood.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 14, 2015
Game officials were rummaging in the net for the puck Patrick Kane slipped past Flyers goaltender Michael Leighton on a Wednesday night in Philadelphia six weeks ago.
From New York Times ● Jul. 24, 2010
A few yards farther on, boys with white faces drawn by hunger, were rummaging eagerly in ash barrels, hunting for scraps of refuse.
From John Marsh's Millions by Arthur Hornblow
