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
Bergen, Norway — In the frigid waters off the coast of Norway, America's NATO allies scour the depths for clandestine Russian activity.
—
Steve Berriman, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
Mahin said some of the cuts made Tuesday could be backfilled by local jurisdictions or the new agency, while the county will scour for additional resources as well.
—Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
In the final few days of the window, however, the foot injury sustained by Mikel Merino prompted Arsenal to scour the market for a midfield signing.
—James McNicholas, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026
The image of Daniel standing in a small boat on the enormous river, scouring below its surface with a camera at the end of a pole, stuck with the filmmaker.
—Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scour
Steve Berriman, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
Mahin said some of the cuts made Tuesday could be backfilled by local jurisdictions or the new agency, while the county will scour for additional resources as well.
—Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
In the final few days of the window, however, the foot injury sustained by Mikel Merino prompted Arsenal to scour the market for a midfield signing.
—James McNicholas, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026
The image of Daniel standing in a small boat on the enormous river, scouring below its surface with a camera at the end of a pole, stuck with the filmmaker.
—Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scour
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scour
Verb
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Multiple aircraft, cutters and small boats searched 1,047 square miles over 24 hours, finding debris near the location where the EPIRB was activated, along with one body and an unoccupied life raft that had been deployed.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
4 Feb. 2026
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Where else to search for old retirement accounts Workers who can't currently benefit from the Labor Department database have other avenues to locate old retirement accounts.—
Sarah Agostino,
CNBC,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Excavators digging at Sizewell C found 321 silver coins last year, dating back between 1036 and 1044.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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These recommendations are based, in part, on studies that have found higher relapse rates among those who stop taking the medication versus those who do not.—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scour.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scour. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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