Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Search

Search

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Searched
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Searching
.]
[OE.
serchen
,
cerchen
, OF.
cerchier
, F.
chercher
, L.
circare
to go about, fr. L.
circum
,
circa
, around. See
Circle
.]
1.
To look over or through, for the purpose of finding something; to examine; to explore;
as, to
search
the city
.
Search the Scriptures.”
John v. 39.
They are come to
search
the house.
Shakespeare
Search
me, O God, and know my heart.
Ps. cxxxix. 23.
2.
To inquire after; to look for; to seek.
I will both
search
my sheep, and seek them out.
Ezek. xxxiv. 11.
Enough is left besides to
search
and know.
Milton.
3.
To examine or explore by feeling with an instrument; to probe;
as, to
search
a wound
.
4.
To examine; to try; to put to the test.
To search out
,
to seek till found; to find by seeking;
as, to
search out
truth
.
Syn. – To explore; examine; scrutinize; seek; investigate; pry into; inquire.

Search

,
Verb.
I.
To seek; to look for something; to make inquiry, exploration, or examination; to hunt.
Once more
search
with me.
Shakespeare
It sufficeth that they have once with care sifted the matter, and
searched
into all the particulars.
Locke.

Search

,
Noun.
[Cf. OF.
cerche
. See
Search
,
Verb.
T.
]
The act of seeking or looking for something; quest; inquiry; pursuit for finding something; examination.
Thus the orb he roamed
With narrow
search
, and with inspection deep
Considered every creature.
Milton.
Nor did my
search
of liberty begin
Till my black hairs were changed upon my chin.
Dryden.
Right of search
(Mar. Law)
,
the right of the lawfully commissioned cruisers of belligerent nations to examine and search private merchant vessels on the high seas, for the enemy’s property or for articles contraband of war.
Search warrant
(Law)
,
a warrant legally issued, authorizing an examination or search of a house, or other place, for goods stolen, secreted, or concealed.
Syn. – Scrutiny; examination; exploration; investigation; research; inquiry; quest; pursuit.

Webster 1828 Edition


Search

SEARCH

,
Verb.
T.
serch
1. To look over or through for the purpose of finding something; to explore; to examine by inspection; as, to search the house for a book; to search the wood for a thief.

Definition 2024


search

search

English

Noun

search (plural searches)

  1. An attempt to find something.
    • 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, "," New York Times (retrieved 31 October 2012):
      At least eight people died, and officials expressed deep concerns that the toll would rise as more searches of homes were carried out.
    With only five minutes until we were meant to leave, the search for the keys started in earnest.
  2. The act of searching in general.
    • 2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18:
      Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet. Perhaps we assume that our name, address and search preferences will be viewed by some unseen pair of corporate eyes, probably not human, and don't mind that much.
    Search is a hard problem for computers to solve efficiently.

Translations

Related terms

Verb

search (third-person singular simple present searches, present participle searching, simple past and past participle searched)

  1. (transitive) To look in (a place) for something.
    I searched the garden for the keys and found them in the vegetable patch.
  2. (intransitive, followed by "for") To look thoroughly.
    The police are searching for evidence in his flat.
    • John Locke
      It sufficeth that they have once with care sifted the matter, and searched into all the particulars.
    • 1909, Archibald Marshall, The Squire's Daughter, chapterI:
      He tried to persuade Cicely to stay away from the ball-room for a fourth dance. [] But she said she must go back, and when they joined the crowd again [] she found her mother standing up before the seat on which she had sat all the evening searching anxiously for her with her eyes, and her father by her side.
    • 2013 July 6, The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68:
      Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.
  3. (transitive, now rare) To look for, seek.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.vi:
      To search the God of loue, her Nymphes she sent / Throughout the wandring forrest euery where [].
    • 1611, Bible (KJV), Ezekiel 34:11:
      For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
    • John Milton (1608-1674)
      Enough is left besides to search and know.
  4. (transitive, obsolete) To probe or examine (a wound).
  5. (obsolete) To examine; to try; to put to the test.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Anagrams