search engine

noun

: computer software used to search data (such as text or a database) for specified information

also : a site on the Internet that uses such software to locate key words in other sites

Examples of search engine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Google is the leading internet search engine, with its revenues primarily generated by advertising. — Bill Stone, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026

The online automobile search engine found that the price of a three-year-old 911 has risen from $132,369 to $230,273, or $97,904 over the last seven years. — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 12 Aug. 2026

Per the report, Kanary considers your search engine results a prime resource for attackers, followed by public social media posts and then by data brokers. — Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 10 Aug. 2026

Everyone took the Meta keyword tag seriously and the practice of utilizing ‘white text on a white background’ to hide hidden keywords was a legitimate tactic that webmasters would use to include keywords in their website for search engine crawlers. — Alan Bradley, ArsTechnica, 7 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1984, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

search engine

noun

: computer software used to search data (as text or a database) for specified information

also : a website that uses such software