searched

5 definitions • 10 examples

past simple and past participle of

to look somewhere carefully in order to find something:

search something for someone The police searched the woods for the missing boy.

search something for something She searched his face for some sign of forgiveness, but it remained expressionless.

search (in/through) something for something He searched (in/through) his pockets for some change.

search high and low I've searched high and low (= everywhere), but I can't find my birth certificate.

search something from top to bottom The detectives searched the house from top to bottom (= all over it), but they found no sign of the stolen goods.

search your mind/memory for something figurative She searched her mind/memory for the man's name, but she couldn't remember it.

search after figurative People who are searching after inner peace sometimes turn to religion.

to try to find the answer to a problem:

Philosophers have searched for millennia but they haven't found the meaning of life.

A police officer who searches you or your possessions looks for something you might be hiding:

be searched for The men were searched for drugs and then released.

to look for information on a computer, the internet, etc.:

search something for something I searched the internet for the best deal.