search

noun

/sɜːtʃ/

/sɜːrtʃ/

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an attempt to find somebody/something, especially by looking carefully for them/it
- search for somebody/something a long search for the murder weapon
- She began a search for new premises
- The search for a cure goes on.
- The search is on (= has begun) for someone to fill the post.
- search of something Detectives carried out a thorough search of the building.
- Police conducted a fingertip search of the garden.
- in search of somebody/something She went into the kitchen in search of (= looking for) a drink.
- Eventually the search was called off.
- a search and rescue team
see also word search
Extra Examples
- His disappearance prompted a week-long search.
- A team of police officers did a fingertip search of the area.
- I was subjected to a body search by customs officials.
- Inspector Binns is leading the search for the stolen paintings.
- Police conducted a routine search of all the houses in the area.
- The search for the missing men was conducted in poor weather conditions.
- The police immediately launched a nationwide search for the killer.
- The police mounted an extensive search operation.
- We're constantly in search of new talent.
- random security searches
- the search for oil off the coast
- to narrow the search area
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- exhaustive
- extensive
- painstaking
- …
verb + search
- begin
- initiate
- launch
- …
search + noun
- operation
- area
- party
- …
preposition
- in search of
- search for
phrases
- search and seizure
See full entry
an act or the activity of looking for information on a computer or on the internet
- I've just done a search on the internet and came up with this website.
- search for something I did an image search for ‘vinyl record’.
- search on something A Google search on her name yielded nothing.
- Our site is found on the first page of search results.
Extra Examples
- I did an internet search for free music sites.
- Companies try to identify the most popular search terms.
- Type your domain name in the search box.
Topics Computersa2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- quick
- simple
- computer
- …
verb + search
- conduct
- do
- perform
- …
search + noun
- engine
- box
- features
- …
preposition
- search for
See full entry

search

verb

/sɜːtʃ/

/sɜːrtʃ/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they search	/sɜːtʃ/ /sɜːrtʃ/
he / she / it searches	/ˈsɜːtʃɪz/ /ˈsɜːrtʃɪz/
past simple searched	/sɜːtʃt/ /sɜːrtʃt/
past participle searched	/sɜːtʃt/ /sɜːrtʃt/
-ing form searching	/ˈsɜːtʃɪŋ/ /ˈsɜːrtʃɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

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[intransitive, transitive] to look carefully for something/somebody; to examine a particular place when looking for something/somebody
- search for something/somebody She searched in vain for her passport.
- Police searched for clues in the area.
- + adv./prep. The customs officers searched through our bags.
- I've searched high and low for those files.
- I found these photos while searching among some old papers.
- search something His house had clearly been searched and the book was missing.
- search something for something/somebody Police searched the area for clues.
- Firefighters searched the buildings for survivors.
Extra Examples
- Police are still searching for the missing child.
- I searched around for a thick stick.
- We searched among the rocks for crabs.
- He searched in his pocket and found a few coins.
- We searched the house from top to bottom.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- carefully
- systematically
- thoroughly
- …
preposition
- among
- for
- in
- …
phrases
- search far and wide
- search something from top to bottom
- search high and low
- …
See full entry
[intransitive, transitive] to look for information on a computer or on the internet
- search for something You can search for any word or phrase in the text.
- I searched online today for more information on sonic booms.
- search something The database can be searched by keyword, topic or source.
- search something for something I searched the internet for recipes.
Extra Examples
- You can also search online for a job.
- I was searching this history website for something about Alexander the Great.
- It's a software tool for searching documents and retrieving information.
- Search the index to find the address of the data file.
[transitive] (especially of the police) to examine somebody’s clothes, their pockets, etc. in order to find something that they may be hiding
- search somebody Visitors are regularly searched as they enter the building.
- search somebody for something The youths were arrested and searched for anything that would incriminate them.
see also strip-search
[intransitive] search (for something) to think carefully about something, especially in order to find the answer to a problem
- He searched desperately for something to say.
- We are continually searching for ways to cut costs.
- She paused, searching for the right word.
- They were still searching for answers about what had happened.
see also soul-searching

Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French cerchier (verb), from late Latin circare ‘go round’, from Latin circus ‘circle’.

Idioms

search me

(informal) used to emphasize that you do not know the answer to somebody’s question
- ‘Why didn't she say anything?’ ‘Search me!’