searching

[ sur-ching ]

adjective

1. examining carefully or thoroughly:

   a searching inspection.

2. acutely observant or penetrating:

   a searching glance; a searching mind.

3. piercing or sharp:

   a searching wind.

searching

/ ˈsɜːtʃɪŋ /

adjective

1. keenly penetrating

   a searching look

Derived Forms

• ˈsearchingly, adverb
• ˈsearchingness, noun

Other Words From

• searching·ly adverb
• searching·ness noun
• self-searching adjective noun
• un·searching adjective
• un·searching·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of searching¹

First recorded in 1570–80; search + -ing ²

Example Sentences

It was possible to find many of the qualities the new site offers on the old site with slightly more sophisticated searching skills.

From Time

Keyword clustering is a good way to better organize your keywords by intent and identify some common searching patterns.

From Search Engine Watch

Responsible recreational searching, advocates argue, helps find objects and sites archaeologists don’t have the budget or time to search for.

From Popular-Science

This latest statistic and the 50% figure from 2019 did not come from the same data provider and included different searching methods.

From Search Engine Land

“The weekend just gone saw a further increase in holiday searching and booking compared with the previous weekend,” Coulthurst said in an emailed statement.

From Fortune

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

From The Daily Beast

The anti-crime cops began searching the likely path of flight.

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

Perhaps, like Hawking searching for his elegant equation, filmmakers will never find the answer.

From The Daily Beast

So as not to die, in lieu of any of these offerings, I decide to go searching for coffee.

From The Daily Beast

As soon as he had seen his mother, he would set off again, and never cease searching till he had found either Ramona or her grave.

From Project Gutenberg

"If you please, I want to give you a note," said the child, anxiously searching a small pocket.

From Project Gutenberg

I decided after anxious searching of heart to help the French by taking over some portion of their line with the Naval Brigade.

From Project Gutenberg

While searching the field Lawrence noticed some white object crawling along like a large reptile.

From Project Gutenberg

He leaned against that same stone column, thinking, searching in his mind, feeling acutely.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• curious
• seeking