as in hunts
an act or process of looking carefully or thoroughly for someone or something
the search for the missing hikers lasted several days
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in finds
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something
archaeologists have begun to search the southern end of the valley, where they believe the underground tombs are located
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in explores
to go into or range over for purposes of discovery
the Spanish conquistadors searched vast areas of the Southwest in their quest for the fabled cities of gold
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of searches
Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 4 June 2026
But the latest allegations have renewed concerns that department may have forgotten the lessons of past controversies involving officers conducting improper stops and searches.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026
That distinction has become increasingly important as applicants attempt to interpret legal developments independently through online searches and artificial intelligence tools.
—Nia Bowers, USA Today, 2 June 2026
The public was not asked to join the searches for McCumber due to the terrain, McCumber’s mental state and the location of the searches on private property.
—Rachel Mergen, Twin Cities, 30 May 2026
To address custody deaths in Los Angeles County jails, Bornman wants to increase staffing and drug searches and look at contracting with outside hospitals and treatment centers for ill and addicted people in jail.
—Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 29 May 2026
In court papers released by the Justice Department, Michele Spagnuolo was accused of using an internal company tool late last year to look up data on Google's top-trending searches of 2025.
—Joe Walsh, CBS News, 28 May 2026
More than 150 Italian financial police officers carried out searches in Italy and abroad, including in Andorra, Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands, Switzerland, Lebanon, Monaco and Spain.
—ABC News, 28 May 2026
Quantum computers can speed up certain searches, but not nearly enough to threaten Bitcoin’s mining system with any hardware being built today.
—Sandy Peng, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 3 June 2026
This will, no doubt, inflate the number of AI Mode searches even more.
—ArsTechnica, 20 May 2026
Hundreds of thousands took to the streets, including Ahangarani, who searches in vain for a friend in Tehran’s Revolution Square as police crack violently down on protestors.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2026
Now imagine that two years from now, your target customer never searches for your category at all.
—Zac Brandenberg, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Where a more capable but costly leader UUV searches the sea space for detection, classification, and identification of mines, which are subsequently neutralized by a expendable follower.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 14 May 2026
Mullin said Venturella, a longtime immigration official who previously worked at for-profit prison company GEO Group, will run ICE while DHS searches for a permanent director.
—Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 13 May 2026
Peuvrelle later told jurors during Ruben Flores’ trial that searches of his home turned up soil samples that tested positive for human blood, CNN affiliate KSBY reported.
—Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 8 May 2026
Thousands of miles away on Earth, her husband, Ben (Walters), searches for the truth.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 7 May 2026
Noun
Once derided as fringe science, this bizarre idea is having a very real comeback as searches for dark matter continue coming up empty.
—Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 4 June 2026
But the latest allegations have renewed concerns that department may have forgotten the lessons of past controversies involving officers conducting improper stops and searches.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026
That distinction has become increasingly important as applicants attempt to interpret legal developments independently through online searches and artificial intelligence tools.
—Nia Bowers, USA Today, 2 June 2026
The public was not asked to join the searches for McCumber due to the terrain, McCumber’s mental state and the location of the searches on private property.
—Rachel Mergen, Twin Cities, 30 May 2026
To address custody deaths in Los Angeles County jails, Bornman wants to increase staffing and drug searches and look at contracting with outside hospitals and treatment centers for ill and addicted people in jail.
—Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 29 May 2026
In court papers released by the Justice Department, Michele Spagnuolo was accused of using an internal company tool late last year to look up data on Google's top-trending searches of 2025.
—Joe Walsh, CBS News, 28 May 2026
More than 150 Italian financial police officers carried out searches in Italy and abroad, including in Andorra, Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands, Switzerland, Lebanon, Monaco and Spain.
—ABC News, 28 May 2026
Quantum computers can speed up certain searches, but not nearly enough to threaten Bitcoin’s mining system with any hardware being built today.
—Sandy Peng, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
Verb
Every time someone streams a movie, uses cloud storage, makes an online purchase, searches the internet or interacts with an AI chatbot, information is typically processed in a data center somewhere.
—Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 3 June 2026
This will, no doubt, inflate the number of AI Mode searches even more.
—ArsTechnica, 20 May 2026
Hundreds of thousands took to the streets, including Ahangarani, who searches in vain for a friend in Tehran’s Revolution Square as police crack violently down on protestors.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2026
Now imagine that two years from now, your target customer never searches for your category at all.
—Zac Brandenberg, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Where a more capable but costly leader UUV searches the sea space for detection, classification, and identification of mines, which are subsequently neutralized by a expendable follower.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 14 May 2026
Mullin said Venturella, a longtime immigration official who previously worked at for-profit prison company GEO Group, will run ICE while DHS searches for a permanent director.
—Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 13 May 2026
Peuvrelle later told jurors during Ruben Flores’ trial that searches of his home turned up soil samples that tested positive for human blood, CNN affiliate KSBY reported.
—Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 8 May 2026
Thousands of miles away on Earth, her husband, Ben (Walters), searches for the truth.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 7 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for searches
Noun
-
Growing up, the 71-year-old remembers going on regular communal hippo hunts around the lakeshore, and fishermen coming home with catches of more than 250 pounds.—
Tommy Trenchard,
NPR,
31 May 2026
-
The randomizer doesn’t always reward these hunts.—
Jay Peters,
The Verge,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
The start of the novel finds the family’s patriarch, Tomás, on the Irish peninsula with his son, Liam, engaged in a cartography expedition that is part of the greater Ordnance Survey of 1865 project.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
Vulture,
2 June 2026
-
Fashionistas will rejoice at Zingara Vintage, which caters to serious collectors, with racks of Victorian pieces, 1950s cabana wear, and groovy 1970s denim, with prices that reflect the rarity of the choice finds.—
Zoey Goto,
Travel + Leisure,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Carlos De Loera is a reporter with De Los, the Los Angeles Times vertical that explores Latino culture and identity.—
Carlos De Loera,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
-
Brodie explores the allure of the pop-cultural underdog and writes about her characters’ chemistry and near-supernatural connection in a way that makes improv seem like literal magic.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
More than a decade after assuming another Cup Final would come quickly, Hertl has learned not to take any of it for granted — not even the side quests.—
Jesse Granger,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
-
This colorful shooter game will suck in hours of your time as there is tons of content to explore in the open world, like side quests and dungeons.—
George Yang,
PC Magazine,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
The cashier simply scans the barcodes of the goods in the basket and off our consumer goes.—
Donna Vickroy,
Chicago Tribune,
29 May 2026
-
An agentic system now scans a supplier’s social presence, marketplace reputation and product quality, delivering a synthesis to reviewers within hours rather than weeks.—
Peter High,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
The new wording would require a challenger to put forward evidence sufficient to support a finding of fabrication before the court probes further.—
Lars Daniel,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2026
-
Further evidence gathered by both the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a satellite that probes Mars’s surface for clues to its current and past geology, and NASA’s Perseverance rover suggests the planet also has material made up of crystals of hydrated silica—a mineral better known on Earth as opal.—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
After his teenage son goes missing, Daniel combs the depths of the Vistula River day and night, caught in a grueling, endless routine and torn between the dread of a fatal leap and the fragile hope that his son may still be alive.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
6 May 2026
-
Zayas also combs through the dark web, a criminal haven on the internet where anonymous threat actors try to cause real-world harm.—
Heather Abbott,
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Devils don’t have a legit C prospect, and Lawrence, a teammate of Devils prospects Mikhail Yegorov and Conrad Fondrk at BU, gives them one.—
Corey Pronman,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
-
The Dolphins doubled down on Red Raiders prospects after, earlier Friday, choosing Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez with their lone second-round pick.—
David Furones,
Sun Sentinel,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Searches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/searches. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
