as in searching
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 scouring
The search continued over the weekend, with teams scouring the area by land, air and water.
—
Jason Green, Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2026
After spending months scouring North Texas for office space, telecommunications giant AT&T will build its new global headquarters in Plano, leaving questions about the future of its massive real estate holdings in downtown Dallas.
—Nick Wooten, Dallas Morning News, 5 Jan. 2026
The returning depth chart looks pretty bare outside of Marsh, so the Wolverines should be scouring the portal for help once again.
—Austin Meek, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
And as someone who spends their work day scouring the internet for the best deals, Spanx’s under-the-radar markdowns stood out, with end-of-the-year steals up to 65 percent off on beloved styles, materials, and colors for a limited time.
—Julia Morlino, Travel + Leisure, 25 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scouring
Jason Green, Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2026
After spending months scouring North Texas for office space, telecommunications giant AT&T will build its new global headquarters in Plano, leaving questions about the future of its massive real estate holdings in downtown Dallas.
—Nick Wooten, Dallas Morning News, 5 Jan. 2026
The returning depth chart looks pretty bare outside of Marsh, so the Wolverines should be scouring the portal for help once again.
—Austin Meek, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
And as someone who spends their work day scouring the internet for the best deals, Spanx’s under-the-radar markdowns stood out, with end-of-the-year steals up to 65 percent off on beloved styles, materials, and colors for a limited time.
—Julia Morlino, Travel + Leisure, 25 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scouring
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scouring
Verb
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Rescuers retrieved eight people alive and were searching for the missing still trapped after a huge mound of garbage and debris collapsed on them in the village of Binaliw in Cebu city, police said.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
9 Jan. 2026
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Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Wednesday that it had been notified that teams had recommenced searching for Ran Gvili.—
Wafaa Shurafa,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Police are combing through a Chicago condo searching for clues in a double murder case that started more than 300 miles away.—
Sara Machi,
CBS News,
12 Jan. 2026
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Historical researcher Segtnan came across the 1948 murder of a 9-year-old girl, Birgitta Sivander, while combing newspaper archives.—
Rebecca Hannigan,
PEOPLE,
10 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scouring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scouring. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.
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