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
James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2026
Blue-light lenses often come up in online searches.
—Footwear News, 12 June 2026
Baez conducted over 215 unauthorized personal searches of NYPD databases to track down his vehicle and the Genesis, prosecutors say.
—Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 12 June 2026
The searches were led by the Sheriff's Enforcement Team, which includes detectives from the Macomb County Sheriff's Office and the Warren Police Department.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 12 June 2026
As an example, consider an estate planning attorney in a small town, where the overall volume could be limited to around fifty searches a month.
—Matthew Nigro, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
The travel company says searches for Florida and California beaches are up 50% this summer, and interest in local destinations like lakes, mountains, and national parks has spiked 65% year-over-year.
—Christopher Edwards, PEOPLE, 11 June 2026
Google searches for gingham are at an all-time high, too, and even Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Lopez have gotten in on the trend.
—Lauren Finney Harden, InStyle, 11 June 2026
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
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
Montevidoni said investigators also found internet searches and web history related to Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive, on Rinderknecht’s devices.
—James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2026
Blue-light lenses often come up in online searches.
—Footwear News, 12 June 2026
Baez conducted over 215 unauthorized personal searches of NYPD databases to track down his vehicle and the Genesis, prosecutors say.
—Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 12 June 2026
The searches were led by the Sheriff's Enforcement Team, which includes detectives from the Macomb County Sheriff's Office and the Warren Police Department.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 12 June 2026
As an example, consider an estate planning attorney in a small town, where the overall volume could be limited to around fifty searches a month.
—Matthew Nigro, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
The travel company says searches for Florida and California beaches are up 50% this summer, and interest in local destinations like lakes, mountains, and national parks has spiked 65% year-over-year.
—Christopher Edwards, PEOPLE, 11 June 2026
Google searches for gingham are at an all-time high, too, and even Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Lopez have gotten in on the trend.
—Lauren Finney Harden, InStyle, 11 June 2026
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
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
-
Magnificent Frigate-bird — Relentless defensively; hunts by chasing other birds and forcing them to drop their prey.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
-
Madonna hunts pheasant in the English countryside, Thomas Edison electrocutes an elephant, Harry Harlow conducts callous experiments on monkeys, and Jimmy Carter fends off a swamp rabbit attack.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
Walmart is having a secret pet sale with up to 70% off food bowls, litter boxes, toys and more, while Wayfair’s Hot Summer Sale offers massive discounts on major garden finds.—
David Hickey,
NBC news,
16 June 2026
-
As a result, any DNA that finds its way inside the cell has the potential to become intermingled with the genome and be incorporated permanently.—
John Timmer,
ArsTechnica,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
This lyrical collection from B Batchelor—a 2025 Haymarket Writing Freedom Fellow, and a recipient of multiple awards from PEN America—explores the way incarceration distorts time.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
-
Written and directed by Stone, the movie is described as being an intimate and provocative drama that explores family, loss, pain and uncovers how love can change shape during our lifetimes.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
10 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
-
Her son also had an assignment to play Prodigy Math, a video game where kids answer adaptive math questions to win battles and complete quests.—
Cayla Bamberger,
New York Daily News,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
Equipped with artificial intelligence, visual weld seam recognition, and intelligent 3D laser vision alignment, the mechanical arm scans its environment in real time.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
15 June 2026
-
Barclays says that markets are more euphoric than ever, tracking it through an index that scans the options market across roughly 700 stocks for the signs of speculative chasing.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
His intervention comes as Washington indicts and probes governors for alleged cartel ties.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 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
-
The hawk combs a curved beak through his feathers before peering around again, head on a swivel.—
Nick Kelley,
Outdoor Life,
24 July 2025
-
The discovery of their bodies triggered a closure of the Enchantments, an area popular for backcountry hiking and camping, as law enforcement combs the forest for any signs of the tattooed Army veteran.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
8 June 2025
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
-
Hawks prospects Anton Frondell and Sacha Boisvert are expected to debut on the team’s upcoming road trip, which starts at the New York Islanders on March 24.—
Kalen Lumpkins,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Searches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/searches. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
