Webster's English Dictionary

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search

1. search \'s*rch\ \'s*r-ch*-b*l\ \-chin-le-\ vb [ME cerchen, fr. MF 
   cerchier to go about, survey, search, fr. LL Xcircare to go about, fr. L 
   circum round about 1: to look into or over carefully or thoroughly in an 
   effort to find or di scover something : as 1a: to examine in seeking 
   something {~ed the north field}  1b: to look through or explore by 
   inspecting possible places of concealmen t or investigating suspicious 
   circumstances 1c: to read thoroughly : CHECK; esp : to examine a public  
   record or register for information about {~ing titles} 1d: to examine for 
   articles concealed on the person  1e: to look at as if to discover or 
   penetrate intention or nature  2: to uncover, find, or come to know by 
   inquiry or scrutiny  1: to look or inquire carefully - usu. used with for 
   {~ ed for the papers} 2: to make painstaking investigation or examination  
   - search.able aj
2. search n 1a: an act of searching  1b: an act of boarding and inspecting 
   a ship on the high seas in exercise o f right of search 2: a person or 
   party that searches  3: power or range of searching and esp. of 
   penetrating; also : a pe netrating effect