SEARCHES Synonyms: 77 Similar and Opposite Words

searches 1 of 2

noun

plural of search

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

searches

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of search

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

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

Noun

Reports that federal immigration enforcement agencies have accessed Flock data, dozens of officers have abused the system to stalk women, and police have logged hundreds of searches related to protest activity sparked successive waves of backlash. — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2026 Video released by Spanish authorities showed police arresting suspects and counting large stacks of 50 euro bills found during their searches. — ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026 Ransom money was paid and searches were conducted as a country and a family clung to hope. — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026 Later versions supported natural language-style searches and gave users the sense that the web could finally be approached as an indexable whole, even if the results were still rough around the edges. — Alan Bradley, ArsTechnica, 7 Aug. 2026 Such fleets could patrol submarine cable routes, conduct searches, stage ambushes, and coordinate with underwater sensors, surface vessels, and aerial drones to support future maritime military operations. — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 2026 Reporter Nora Mabie covers Indigenous affairs for the Montana Free Press and says families leading the way in searches is quite common. — Dateline Nbc, NBC news, 6 Aug. 2026 In traditional YouTube searches, viewers would see a simple list of videos based on a wide variety of factors, sometimes including a customer’s prior preferences. — Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 31 July 2026 Chicago, with no games, no teams hosted, basically fewer reasons to expect an outsized swell in interest,still saw bar searches nearly quadruple over that period. — Leo MacLehose, Sportico.com, 31 July 2026

Verb

Ser Roxton finds Ormund’s corpse, while Gwayne searches among the rubble and ash for young Daeron. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 Even so, the project enters the next stage as the United States searches for reliable domestic uranium supplies, placing its progress under closer industry scrutiny. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 7 Aug. 2026 The receiver room will look much different this season as San Jose State, which went 3-9 last season, searches for new playmakers. — Haddy Barghouti, Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2026 According to TikTok, searches for #watermelonicecream have gone up by 300% in the past week alone. — Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Aug. 2026 Sill credited the outcome to the community, the volunteers and the dog’s own persistence, and told the outlet that searches like this one frequently end differently. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 31 July 2026 After defeating the shark, Sara searches for another way out of the cave. — Isadora Wandermurem, Time, 29 July 2026 The agency has also sent staff to Anson County to help run the elections office while the county searches for new leadership. — Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 25 July 2026 What data CrashStealer steals from a Mac CrashStealer searches broadly across the Mac. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 21 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for searches

Noun

The Oklahoma native hunts everything from turkey and duck to deer during the offseason and has even passed on the tradition and practices to his 7-year-old son.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 5 Aug. 2026
Environmental factors influence how much a dragonfly hunts, especially temperature and prey availability.

— Rachel Sargent Mirus, Hartford Courant, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of hunts

Verb

Ormund, who has spent the entirety of the battle looking for Ulf, finally finds the dragonseed passed out in the latrine after a morning spent in Lord Footly’s kitchen getting drunk on the Footly stores of ale.

— Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
In Helaena’s room, Rhaenyra finds a tapestry Helaena had just finished sewing that predicts a dark and fiery end for Rhaenyra in the future.

— Jennifer Maas, Variety, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of finds

Verb

Tortorici said his film explores how institutions, such as school, family and the state, fail kids.

— Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 9 Aug. 2026
The story centers on an authoritarian father and his two sons on vacation following a difficult separation and explores themes of power, masculinity and patriarchy.

— Ed Meza, Variety, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of explores

Noun

Haven’t side quests become the way of life in er, life, and sports?

— Darren Cooper, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
What’s even better is that Ubisoft added more quests and filled out the narrative, rearranging it to emphasize the past and relying less on the modern-day frame that the series has been moving away from.

— Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 29 July 2026

Definition of quests

Verb

The Rocketbook app scans the pages to popular cloud services, like Dropbox, Google Drive, Slack and One Note.

— BestReviews, Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2026
Radar then scans across 14 federal and state programs to identify benefits users may qualify for, from disability and food assistance to tax credits.

— Victor Dey, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of scans

Verb

Edwidge Danticat probes the ideas of safety, home, and survival all while examining the consequences of not speaking about one’s pain.

— Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 4 Aug. 2026
Looking for Loftus’ motivations, Aviv probes the psychologist’s memories of her mentally ill mother’s probable suicide and her own childhood abuse by a babysitter.

— Julia M. Klein, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026

Definition of probes

Verb

Another founder, Sheridan Clayborne, built an AI agent that combs the internet for the best credit card and banking deals, netting him thousands of dollars.

— Margaux MacColl, Vanity Fair, 14 July 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, 7 June 2026

Definition of combs

Verb

Looking down the line, prospects Bo Davidson and Parks Harber, who are both playing for Triple-A Sacramento, could see some time in the Giants’ outfield down the stretch.

— Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2026
Winger prospects Liam Greentree, Brody Lamb, Nathan Aspinall and Jacob Battaglia are all set to turn pro this season.

— Vincent Z. Mercogliano, New York Times, 28 June 2026