SEARCH | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

Meaning of search in English

search
verb
uk
/sɜːtʃ/ us
/sɝːtʃ/
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B1 [ I or T ]
to look somewhere carefully in order to find something:
The police searched the woods for the missing boy.
She searched his face for some sign of forgiveness, but it remained expressionless.
He searched (in/through) his pockets for some change.
I've searched high and low (= everywhere), but I can't find my birth certificate.
The detectives searched the house from top to bottom (= all over it), but they found no sign of the stolen goods.
figurative She searched her mind/memory for the man's name, but she couldn't remember it.
figurative People who are searching after inner peace sometimes turn to religion.
Synonyms
hunt (SEARCH)
look (SEARCH)
seek (SEARCH) formal
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
to search for something
  • searchI've searched everywhere and can't find my passport.
  • lookShe was looking in her handbag for a pen.
  • huntI've hunted all over the place but I can't find that book.
  • rummageHe rummaged through his pockets, looking for his keys.
  • ferret outThe inspector general has broad powers to ferret out fraud on the state and local level.
  • combPolice combed the area for evidence.
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C1 [ I ]
to try to find the answer to a problem:
Philosophers have searched for millennia but they haven't found the meaning of life.
B2 [ T ]
A police officer who searches you or your possessions looks for something you might be hiding:
The men were searched for drugs and then released.
B1 [ I or T ]
to look for information on a computer, the internet, etc.:
I searched the internet for the best deal.
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Searching
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Idiom

search me!

Phrasal verb

search something/someone out
search
noun
uk
/sɜːtʃ/ us
/sɝːtʃ/
B1 [ C ]
an attempt to find someone or something:
After a long search, they eventually found the missing papers.
The police carried out/conducted/made a thorough/exhaustive search of the premises, but they failed to find any drugs.
B2 [ S ]
an attempt to find an answer to a problem:
the search for happiness
B1 [ C ]
an attempt to find information on a computer, on the internet, etc.:
I did a search for yoga clubs in my area.
in search of something
trying to find something:
She was shot by a sniper when she went out in search of firewood.
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Searching
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(Definition of search from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

search | American Dictionary

search
verb [ I/T ]
us
/sɜrtʃ/
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to look somewhere carefully in order to find something:
[ T ] Dogs were brought in to search the area for survivors.
[ I ] Teens are often searching for their identity.
search
noun [ C/U ]
us
/sɜrtʃ/
the act or process of looking carefully in order to find something:
[ C ] After a long search, they finally found the lost child.
[ U ] It’s a book about the search for love.
(Definition of search from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

search | Business English

search
verb
uk
/sɜːtʃ/ us
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[ I or T ]
to look somewhere carefully in order to find something or someone:
search for sth/sb For the past six months, she has been unsuccessfully searching for a job.
They are still searching for a new chief executive.
search sth for sth We will search the market for the cheapest deal for you.
search among sth We have begun searching actively among many potential suppliers in order to identify the best product at the best price.
search through sth The regulators must be able to search through detailed records.
[ I or T ]   IT, INTERNET
to look for information on a computer or on the internet:
search a database/the Web
search sth for sth She searched the Internet for information about the loans.
search (sth) by sth The database of executive branch workers can be searched by an employee's name.
search through sth The new file system will allow users to search through all their files at one time.
search on a word/phrase Search on the word "retrospective" and then filter the results.
[ T ]
to examine a place or a person carefully in order to find something or someone:
The offices of the credit rating agency were searched by police.

Phrasal verb

search sth/sb out
search
noun [ C ]
uk
/sɜːtʃ/ us
an attempt to find someone or something:
search for sb/sth He will lead the high-profile search for a new chief executive officer.
a job search
IT, INTERNET
the action of looking for information on a computer or on the internet:
an internet search
a search service/tool
search option/result/term The company makes nearly all of its profit from ads that appear alongside its search results.
search for sth a search for all restaurants in the area
run a search on sb/sth I ran a search on him to see if I could find out any more.
a careful examination of a place or a person in order to find something or someone:
The Serious Fraud Office raid included a search of the premises of the Jersey investment group.
conduct a search

See also

certificate of search
executive search
internal search
(Definition of search from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of search

search
Additional references were identified through searching bibliographies of related publications and through contact with relevant topic experts and industry.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Search for alternatives can similarly be random or ordered.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Although no formal study of parasitoid behaviour was made, the search pattern of the parasitoids in this experiment appeared to be random.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
There were 1,666 records recovered through the search strategy mentioned above.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Truncated literature search strategies may often lead to uncertainty surrounding the conclusions of a review.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
All coded data were stored on magnetic tape, and a general search programme enabled any desired set of tables to be produced.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
This scheduler searches through specific tables and relations for part and fixture pallet availability.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
A literature search revealed no similar studies assessing the effectiveness of bereavement camps.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Theories of cognition and the experimental tasks used to test those theories often conspire hand in hand to overlook limited search and stopping rules.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The search tasks, in which participants are assumed to perform operations in parallel on a single visual display are also used for the same purpose.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
In this paper, we will focus on recursive trees and binary search trees as underlying classes of trees.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Our refined approaches will also exhibit some universality; we will demonstrate this by showing that they straightforwardly apply to random binary search trees as well.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The time and resources available to the project will ultimately determine the acceptable level of focus in the search strategies and which sources are searched.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Work by search in a problem space immediately implies that some of the possible states will have been visited and some not.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The search method is exhaustive, so it is ensured that all the necessary parameters will be visited and checked for violations.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
See all examples of search
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with search

search

These are words often used in combination with search.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

advanced search
These items are also listed in the 'advanced search' and can be accessed directly.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
binary search
In this paper, we will focus on recursive trees and binary search trees as underlying classes of trees.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
comprehensive search
A comprehensive search of major biomedical and specialist complementary and alternative medicine databases was conducted.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
See all collocations with search
What is the pronunciation of search?
 
B1,C1,B2,B1,B1,B2,B1

Translations of search

in Chinese (Traditional)
搜查, 搜索, 尋找答案…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
搜查, 搜索, 寻找答案…
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in Spanish
buscar, registrar, búsqueda…
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in Portuguese
procurar, revistar, revirar…
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शोध घेणे, तपासणे, झडती घेणे…
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～を捜す, 探す, （インターネットで）検索する…
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araştırmak, aramak, (polis) aramak…
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rechercher, fouiller, être à la recherche de…
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buscar, navegar per, escorcollar…
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zoeken, fouilleren, gezoek…
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எதையாவது கண்டுபிடிப்பதற்காக எங்காவது கவனமாகப் பார்க்க, உங்களை அல்லது உங்கள் உடைமைகளைத் தேடும் ஒரு போலீஸ் அதிகாரி நீங்கள் மறைத்து வைக்கக்கூடிய ஒன்றைத் தேடுகிறார், ஒரு கணினி…
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खोजना, ढूँढ़ना, (किसी व्यक्ति या उसके सामान की एक पुलिस अधिकारी द्वारा ली गई) तलाशी…
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શોધવું, તપાસ કરવી, શોધખોળ કરવી…
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lede, kropsvisitere, undersøge…
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söka, leta, söka igenom…
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cari, memeriksa, pencarian…
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suchen, untersuchen, die Suche…
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søke, lete, ransake…
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تلاش کرنا, تلاشی لینا (پولیس کے ذریعہ کسی شخص کی یا اس کے پوشیدہ سامان کا سراغ لگایا جانا), تلاش کرنا (انٹرنیٹ، کمپیوٹر پر کسی چیز کو تلاش کرنا)…
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шукати, розшукувати, обшукувати…
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искать, обыскивать, поиск…
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వెదకు/ ఏదైనా కనుగొనడానికి ఎక్కడైనా జాగ్రత్తగా చూచు, వెదకు/ మిమ్మల్ని లేదా మీ ఆస్తులను శోధించే ఒక పోలీసు అధికారి మీరు దాచి ఉంచే దాని కోసం వెతుకుతారు, కంప్యూటర్…
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يَبْحَث عَن, يُفتّش, بَحْث…
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অনুসন্ধান করা, তল্লাশি করা, খোঁজাখুঁজি…
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hledat, pátrat, pátrání…
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mencari, memeriksa, pencarian…
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ค้นหา, ค้นตัว, การค้นหา…
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tìm kiếm, lục soát, sự lục soát…
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przeszukiwać, szukać (w), rewidować…
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찾다, 검색하다, 수색하다…
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cercare, ricercare, perlustrare…
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