search
10 dictionary results for: search
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
search 
[surch] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[surch] Pronunciation Key –verb (used with object)
–verb (used without object)
–noun
—Idiom
| 1. | to go or look through (a place, area, etc.) carefully in order to find something missing or lost: They searched the woods for the missing child. I searched the desk for the letter. |
| 2. | to look at or examine (a person, object, etc.) carefully in order to find something concealed: He searched the vase for signs of a crack. The police searched the suspect for weapons. |
| 3. | to explore or examine in order to discover: They searched the hills for gold. |
| 4. | to look at, read, or examine (a record, writing, collection, repository, etc.) for information: to search a property title; He searched the courthouse for a record of the deed to the land. |
| 5. | to look at or beneath the superficial aspects of to discover a motive, reaction, feeling, basic truth, etc.: He searched her face for a clue to her true feelings. |
| 6. | to look into, question, or scrutinize: She searched her conscience. |
| 7. | (of natural elements) to pierce or penetrate: The sunlight searched the room's dark corners. |
| 8. | to uncover or find by examination or exploration (often fol. by out): to search out all the facts. |
| 9. | Military. to fire artillery over (an area) with successive changes in gun elevation. |
| 10. | Computers. to examine (one or more files, as databases or texts) electronically, to locate specified items. |
| 11. | to inquire, investigate, examine, or seek; conduct an examination or investigation. |
| 12. | an act or instance of searching; careful examination or investigation. |
| 13. | the practice, on the part of naval officers of a belligerent nation, of boarding and examining a suspected neutral vessel at sea in order to ascertain its true nationality and determine if it is carrying contraband: the right of visit and search. |
| 14. | search me, I don't know: Why has it taken so long to reach a decision? Search me. |
[Origin: 1300–50; (v.) ME serchen, cerchen (< AF sercher) < OF cerchier < LL circāre to go around, deriv. of L circus circle; (n.) ME serche < AF serche, OF cerche, deriv. of cerchier]
] —Related forms
search·a·ble, adjective
search·a·ble·ness, noun
searcher, noun
—Synonyms 1. investigate. 2. inspect. 12. inspection, scrutiny.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| search
(sûrch) Pronunciation Key
v. searched, search·ing, search·es v. tr.
v. intr. To conduct a thorough investigation; seek: were searching for clues. n.
[Middle English serchen, from Anglo-Norman sercher, variant of Old French cerchier, from Latin circāre, to go around, from Latin circus, circle, from Greek krikos, kirkos; see sker-2 in Indo-European roots.] search'a·ble adj., search'er n. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
search (v.)
search (v.)
c.1330, from O.Fr. cerchier "to search," from L. circare "go about, wander, traverse," from circus "circle." The noun is first recorded c.1400. Phrase search me as a verbal shrug of ignorance first recorded 1901. Search warrant first attested 1739. Search-light recorded from 1883.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| search | |
noun | |
| 1. | the activity of looking thoroughly in order to find something or someone |
| 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" |
| 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" |
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" |
| 2. | search or seek; "We looked all day and finally found the child in the forest"; "Look elsewhere for the perfect gift!" |
| 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" [syn: research] |
| 4. | subject to a search; "The police searched the suspect"; "We searched the whole house for the missing keys" |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This
search
In addition to the idiom beginning with search, also see high and low, search; in search of.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: search
Function: noun
1 : an exploratory investigation (as of an area or person) by a government agent that intrudes on an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy and is conducted usually for the purpose of finding evidence of unlawful activity or guilt or to locate a personsearches are invalid unless they fall within narrowly drawn exceptions —State v. Mahone, 701 Pacific Reporter, Second Series 171 (1985)> —see also EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES, PLAIN VIEW 2 probable cause at CAUSE 2, REASONABLE SUSPICION search warrant at WARRANT —compare SEIZURE
NOTE: The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and requires that a warrant may issue only upon probable cause and that the warrant must particularly describe the place to be searched. Some searches, such as a search incident to an arrest, have been held to be valid without a warrant.
administrative search
: an inspection or search carried out under a regulatory or statutory scheme esp. in public or commercial premises and usually to enforce compliance with regulations or laws pertaining to health, safety, or securityadministrative searches is that the government may not use an administrative inspection scheme as a pretext to search for evidence of criminal violations —People v. Madison, 520 North Eastern Reporter, Second Series 374 (1988)> called also administrative inspection inspection regulatory search —see also probable cause at CAUSE 2
NOTE: The U.S. Supreme Court held in Camara v. Municipal Court, 387 U.S. 523 (1967), that a reasonable administrative search may be conducted upon a showing of probable cause which is less stringent than that required for a search incident to a criminal investigation. The Court stated that the reasonableness of the search can only be determined by “balancing the need to search against the invasion which the search entails.” Cases following Camara have stated that the probable cause requirement is fulfilled by showing that the search meets reasonable administrative standards established in a nonarbitrary regulatory scheme.
bor·der search
: a search made of a person upon crossing into the U.S. at a border or its equivalent (as the airport at which the person arrives in the U.S.)
NOTE: Probable cause is not required for a border search.
consent search
: a warrantless search conducted upon the voluntarily given consent of a person having authority over the place or things to be searched
inventory search
: a warrantless search (as of an impounded automobile) conducted for the purpose of placing personal property in safekeeping to prevent loss of the property and claims against police for such loss
protective search
: a search (as a frisk) conducted by a law enforcement officer for the purpose of ensuring against threats to safety (as from a concealed weapon) or sometimes to prevent the destruction of evidence
regulatory search
: ADMINISTRATIVE SEARCH in this entry
shake·down search
/'shAk-"daun-/
: a search for illicit or contraband material (as weapons or drugs) in prisoners' cells that is usually random and warrantless
NOTE: In Hudson v. Palmer, 468 U.S. 517 (1984), the U.S. Supreme Court held that Fourth Amendment protections do not extend to searches of prisoners' cells.
strip search
: a search for something concealed on a person conducted after removal of the person's clothing
2 : an act of boarding and inspecting a ship on the high seas in exercise of the right to do so under international law (as in time of war)
3 : an examination of a public record or registry —see also TITLE SEARCH
Main Entry: search
Function: noun
1 : an exploratory investigation (as of an area or person) by a government agent that intrudes on an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy and is conducted usually for the purpose of finding evidence of unlawful activity or guilt or to locate a person
NOTE: The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and requires that a warrant may issue only upon probable cause and that the warrant must particularly describe the place to be searched. Some searches, such as a search incident to an arrest, have been held to be valid without a warrant.
administrative search
: an inspection or search carried out under a regulatory or statutory scheme esp. in public or commercial premises and usually to enforce compliance with regulations or laws pertaining to health, safety, or security
NOTE: The U.S. Supreme Court held in Camara v. Municipal Court, 387 U.S. 523 (1967), that a reasonable administrative search may be conducted upon a showing of probable cause which is less stringent than that required for a search incident to a criminal investigation. The Court stated that the reasonableness of the search can only be determined by “balancing the need to search against the invasion which the search entails.” Cases following Camara have stated that the probable cause requirement is fulfilled by showing that the search meets reasonable administrative standards established in a nonarbitrary regulatory scheme.
bor·der search
: a search made of a person upon crossing into the U.S. at a border or its equivalent (as the airport at which the person arrives in the U.S.)
NOTE: Probable cause is not required for a border search.
consent search
: a warrantless search conducted upon the voluntarily given consent of a person having authority over the place or things to be searched
inventory search
: a warrantless search (as of an impounded automobile) conducted for the purpose of placing personal property in safekeeping to prevent loss of the property and claims against police for such loss
protective search
: a search (as a frisk) conducted by a law enforcement officer for the purpose of ensuring against threats to safety (as from a concealed weapon) or sometimes to prevent the destruction of evidence
regulatory search
: ADMINISTRATIVE SEARCH in this entry
shake·down search
/'shAk-"daun-/
: a search for illicit or contraband material (as weapons or drugs) in prisoners' cells that is usually random and warrantless
NOTE: In Hudson v. Palmer, 468 U.S. 517 (1984), the U.S. Supreme Court held that Fourth Amendment protections do not extend to searches of prisoners' cells.
strip search
: a search for something concealed on a person conducted after removal of the person's clothing
2 : an act of boarding and inspecting a ship on the high seas in exercise of the right to do so under international law (as in time of war)
3 : an examination of a public record or registry —see also TITLE SEARCH
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: search
Function: transitive verb
: to conduct a search of <search a premises> <search a person> <search a title> intransitive verb : to conduct a search <search for drugs in a school locker> —search·er noun
Main Entry: search
Function: transitive verb
: to conduct a search of <search a premises> <search a person> <search a title> intransitive verb : to conduct a search <search for drugs in a school locker> —search·er noun
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Search
Search\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Searched; p. pr. & vb. n. Searching.] [OE. serchen, cerchen, OF. cerchier, F. chercher, L. circare to go about, fr. L. circum, circa, around. See Circle.]1. To look over or through, for the purpose of finding something; to examine; to explore; as, to search the city. "Search the Scriptures." --John v. 39. They are come to search the house. --Shak. Search me, O God, and know my heart. --Ps. cxxxix. 23. 2. To inquire after; to look for; to seek. I will both search my sheep, and seek them out. --Ezek. xxxiv. 11. Enough is left besides to search and know. --Milton. 3. To examine or explore by feeling with an instrument; to probe; as, to search a wound. 4. To examine; to try; to put to the test. To search out, to seek till found; to find by seeking; as, to search out truth. Syn: To explore; examine; scrutinize; seek; investigate; pry into; inquire.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Search
Search\, v. i. To seek; to look for something; to make inquiry, exploration, or examination; to hunt. Once more search with me. --Shak. It sufficeth that they have once with care sifted the matter, and searched into all the particulars. --Locke.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Search
Search\, n. [Cf. OF. cerche. See Search, v. t.] The act of seeking or looking for something; quest; inquiry; pursuit for finding something; examination. Thus the orb he roamed With narrow search, and with inspection deep Considered every creature. --Milton. Nor did my search of liberty begin Till my black hairs were changed upon my chin. --Dryden. Right of search (Mar. Law), the right of the lawfully commissioned cruisers of belligerent nations to examine and search private merchant vessels on the high seas, for the enemy's property or for articles contraband of war. Search warrant (Law), a warrant legally issued, authorizing an examination or search of a house, or other place, for goods stolen, secreted, or concealed. Syn: Scrutiny; examination; exploration; investigation; research; inquiry; quest; pursuit.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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