as in to search
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something
the police scoured the city for the Typhoid Mary of this latest epidemic
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Recent Examples of scour
Norman said his department would continue to scour social media for footage and clues.
—
Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 5 Sep. 2025
While there’s not a lot to see and do, every bit of it is worth experiencing, so pick a pretty day and wander over to Waverly for a few hours of chatting with friendly folks, digging into good food, and scouring shelves for cool finds.
—Jennifer Stewart Kornegay, Southern Living, 3 Sep. 2025
As Imperial Japanese soldiers scour the streets, a group of civilians in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing seek refuge in a small photography studio.
—Jan Camenzind Broomby, NPR, 2 Sep. 2025
Over the weekend, as online sleuths scoured photos of Trump for evidence of any frailty, the political scientist Ian Bremmer pointed out that obsessive scrutiny of a leader’s health is a hallmark of authoritarian countries.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scour
Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 5 Sep. 2025
While there’s not a lot to see and do, every bit of it is worth experiencing, so pick a pretty day and wander over to Waverly for a few hours of chatting with friendly folks, digging into good food, and scouring shelves for cool finds.
—Jennifer Stewart Kornegay, Southern Living, 3 Sep. 2025
As Imperial Japanese soldiers scour the streets, a group of civilians in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing seek refuge in a small photography studio.
—Jan Camenzind Broomby, NPR, 2 Sep. 2025
Over the weekend, as online sleuths scoured photos of Trump for evidence of any frailty, the political scientist Ian Bremmer pointed out that obsessive scrutiny of a leader’s health is a hallmark of authoritarian countries.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scour
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scour
Verb
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Every bag and piece of equipment that comes through security on Sunday will be scanned and thoroughly searched.—
Adam Zagoria,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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To search the restaurant inspections, type in a keyword or restaurant name.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The typical price of a single-family home in the United States is about $368,000, jumping roughly 13% over the past 5 years and 38% over the last decade, the ABC News data team found.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Sep. 2025
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And Sheen does find the words to tell more harrowing stories of addiction and excess that defined his Hollywood spiral.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scour.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scour. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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