search
try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of
How often you will meet it
Rank 1,278 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 14,369 times across 175,113 chapters — 0.007% of every word in the library.
What it means
verb
- try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of also: seek, look for The police are searching for cluesThey are searching for the missing man in the entire county
- search or seek also: look We looked all day and finally found the child in the forestLook elsewhere for the perfect gift!
- inquire into also: research, explore the students had to research the history of the Second World War for their history projectHe searched for information on his relatives on the web
- subject to a search The police searched the suspectWe searched the whole house for the missing keys
noun
- the activity of looking thoroughly in order to find something or someone also: hunt, hunting
- an investigation seeking answers a thorough search of the ledgers revealed nothingthe outcome justified the search
- an operation that determines whether one or more of a set of items has a specified property also: lookup they wrote a program to do a table lookup
- the examination of alternative hypotheses his search for a move that would avoid checkmate was unsuccessful
search in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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But in vain did the commissary search all the drawers.
Other People's Money · Emile Gaboriau · Chapter 1
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In his search for wealth, he had been content to abide his time.
The Intrusion of Jimmy · P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse · Chapter 1
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The railroads put up bulletins offering free transportation to all who would join in the search.
The Red Record Tabulated Statistics · Ida B. Wells-Barnett · Chapter 1
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Here take my cloak and keep thee warm within, And wait thee here while I search out an inn.
The White Christmas and other Merry · Walter Ben Hare · Chapter 1
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At last a young man, with a good heart and plenty of courage, set out to search for the ring.
The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts · World Traditions (Celtic, Norse, Asian & Persian) · Chapter 1