rummage
to search thoroughly or actively through (a place, receptacle, etc.), especially by moving around, turning over, or looking through contents.
to find, bring, or fetch by searching (often followed by out or up).
to search actively, as in a place or receptacle or within oneself: She rummaged in her mind for the forgotten name.
miscellaneous articles; odds and ends.
a rummaging search.
Origin of rummage
1Other words from rummage
- rum·mag·er, noun
- un·rum·maged, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use rummage in a sentence
The baron unlocked this door, and, after some rummaging, he took forth a box similar to that he had taken out before.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le FanuThe gratification of rummaging false Val's desk was an ample compensation; and the countess-dowager hugged herself with delight.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodStick a candle in your pocket; I can't rest, Jim, till we give her a rummaging.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Complete | Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)He was no sort of a speaker, being ill at ease, and plainly occupied in rummaging about in his mind.
The Yeoman Adventurer | George W. GoughWin Scott had contributed all the coffee, grain or salt sacks he could secure by rummaging every building on Stable Street.
Watch Yourself Go By | Al. G. Field
British Dictionary definitions for rummage
/ (ˈrʌmɪdʒ) /
(when intr , often foll by through) to search (through) while looking for something, often causing disorder or confusion
an act of rummaging
a jumble of articles
obsolete confusion or bustle
Origin of rummage
1Derived forms of rummage
- rummager, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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