Definitions for searching

• Definition
• Anagrams (697)

searching search·ing

Spelling: [sur-ching]

IPA: /ˈsɜr tʃɪŋ/

Searching is a 9 letter English word. It's valid Scrabble word worth 15 points. It's valid Words with friends word worth 17 points.

You can make 697 anagrams from letters in searching (aceghinrs).

Definitions for searching

noun

1. the act of searching; careful examination or investigation: an instance of this:
2. the practice, on the part of naval officers of a belligerent nation, of boarding and examining a suspected neutral vessel at sea in order to ascertain its true nationality and determine if it is carrying contraband:
3. Computers. the act or process of electronically retrieving data, Web pages, database records, or other information from files, databases, etc., as in Boolean search; keyword search:

Idioms

1. search me, I don't know:

adjective

1. examining carefully or thoroughly:
2. acutely observant or penetrating:
3. piercing or sharp:

verb (used with object)

1. to go or look through (a place, area, etc.) carefully in order to find something missing or lost:
2. to look at or examine (a person, object, etc.) carefully in order to find something concealed:
3. to explore or examine in order to discover:
4. to look at, read, or examine (a record, writing, collection, repository, etc.) for information:
5. to look at or beneath the superficial aspects of to discover a motive, reaction, feeling, basic truth, etc.:
6. to look into, question, or scrutinize:
7. (of natural elements) to pierce or penetrate:
8. to uncover or find by examination or exploration (often followed by out):
9. Military. to fire artillery over (an area) with successive changes in gun elevation.
10. Computers. to electronically retrieve data, Web pages, database records, or other information from (files, databases, etc.) by typing relevant terms into a search engine or other search tool:

verb (used without object)

1. to inquire, investigate, examine, or seek; conduct an examination or investigation.

Origin of searching

First recorded in 1570-80; search + -ing²

Examples for searching

The hot, searching, stifling African day took possession of the world.

I was lost, fresh back from Vietnam, searching, maybe, for a peril the equivalent of war but aimed in the direction of life.

After a searching beat, Drew adds, “And that was the last fight we had.”

It need hardly be said that a searching inquiry was instituted.

The FBI has also been searching its records for any information that could assist the French investigation, a spokesperson added.

Pro-pipeline Democrats, meanwhile, appeared to be searching desperately for ways to turn a crushing defeat into a moral victory.

Yes, I meant no harm to Mortimer in searching for this evidence; it was only to clear your brother.

He tried this and tried that—he was just searching and searching.

As we entered the ballroom, her eyes were wistful, searching, yet not expecting to find.

She seemed to be searching in the depths of her mind for some argument to oppose to my assertions.