search meaning and definition

SEARCH noun

Definition of search (noun)

1. the activity of looking thoroughly in order to find something or someone
   • synonyms: hunt, hunting
2. an investigation seeking answers
   • "a thorough search of the ledgers revealed nothing"; "the outcome justified the search"
3. an operation that determines whether one or more of a set of items has a specified property
   • "they wrote a program to do a table lookup"
   • synonyms: lookup
4. the examination of alternative hypotheses
   • "his search for a move that would avoid checkmate was unsuccessful"
5. boarding and inspecting a ship on the high seas
   • "right of search"

SEARCH verb

Definition of search (verb)

1. try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of
   • "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the missing man in the entire county"
   • synonyms: look for, seek
2. search or seek
   • "We looked all day and finally found the child in the forest"; "Look elsewhere for the perfect gift!"
   • synonyms: look
3. inquire into
   • "the students had to research the history of the Second World War for their history project"; "He searched for information on his relatives on the web"; "Scientists are exploring the nature of consciousness"
   • synonyms: explore, research
4. subject to a search
   • "The police searched the suspect"; "We searched the whole house for the missing keys"