look

2 verb

look search seek hunt forage scout cast about/around for sth These words all mean to try to find sth. 1/ look BrE / lk / NAmE / lk / [I] to try to find sth I can't find my book I've looked everywhere. Are you still looking for a job? We're looking for someone with experience for this position. We're looking around for a house in this area. I was just about to come looking for you. I'm looking for an apartment on the east side of the city. I've spent my whole life looking for an answer to that question! He inspected the room, looking for any possible clues. Look carefully for signs of damp. See also look SEARCH noun 2/ search BrE / st / NAmE / srt / [I,T ] to look carefully to try to find sb/sth; to examine a particular place when trying to find sb/sth; (especially of the police) to examine sb's clothes, etc. in order to find sth that they may be hiding She searched in vain for her passport. The customs officers searched through her bag. I found out more about the company by searching online . Firefighters searched the building for survivors. Visitors are regularly searched as they enter the building. I found these photos while searching among some old papers. The committee has been searching for new ways to tackle youth unemployment. I've searched high and low for those files, but I can't find them anywhere. Police searched for clues in the area. Police searched the area for clues. His house had clearly been searched and the book was missing. It's a software tool for searching documents and retrieving information. I was searching this history website for something about Alexander the Great. Search the index to find the address of the data file. The youths were arrested and searched for anything that would incriminate them. See also search SEARCH noun 3/ seek BrE / sik / NAmE / sik / sought , sought BrE st NAmE st / [T,I] ( formal ) to try to find sb/sth Drivers are advised to seek alternative routes. Police are seeking witnesses to the accident. He admired her ability to seek out

bargains ( = to look for and find them ) . ( BrE ) They sought in vain for somewhere to shelter. See also seek ASK 2 , seek TRY 1 4/ hunt BrE / hnt / NAmE / hnt / [T,I] to try to find sth that is difficult to find; to try to find sb in order to catch them or harm them I've hunted everywhere, but I can't find it. She was hunting through her bag for her keys. Police are hunting an escaped criminal. Detectives are hunting for thieves who broke into a warehouse yesterday. I'm still hunting for a new job. See also hunt SEARCH noun 5/ forage

BrE / frd / NAmE / frd / NAmE / frd /

[I]

( written ) (especially of animals) to try to find food; (of a person) to try to find sth, especially using your hands The female only leaves the young to forage for food . Her assistant was foraging in a drawer for some envelopes. The pigs are allowed to forage around in a large orchard. 6/ scout BrE / skat / NAmE / skat / [I,T] to search an area or various areas in order to find or discover sth The kids were scouting around for wood for the fire. They scouted the area for somewhere to stay the night. 7/ cast a bout/a round for sth = cast a bout for sth = cast a round for sth phrasal verb cast , cast BrE / kst / NAmE / kst / ( written ) to try hard to think of or find sth, especially when this is difficult She cast around desperately for a safe topic of conversation. The authorities are clearly casting about for someone to blame. Oxford Learners Thesaurus Oxford University Press, 2008.