activity - any specific activity; "they avoided all recreational activity"

exploration - a careful systematic search

foraging, forage - the act of searching for food and provisions

frisk, frisking - the act of searching someone for concealed weapons or illegal drugs

looking for, looking - the act of searching visually

manhunt - an organized search (by police) for a person (charged with a crime)

seeking, quest - the act of searching for something; "a quest for diamonds"

ransacking, rummage - a thorough search for something (often causing disorder or confusion); "he gave the attic a good rummage but couldn't find his skis"

scouring - moving over territory to search for something; "scouring the entire area revealed nothing"

shakedown - a very thorough search of a person or a place; "a shakedown by the police uncovered the drugs"

investigating, investigation - the work of inquiring into something thoroughly and systematically

operation - (computer science) data processing in which the result is completely specified by a rule (especially the processing that results from a single instruction); "it can perform millions of operations per second"

hunt - an instance of searching for something; "the hunt for submarines"

pursuance, quest, pursuit - a search for an alternative that meets cognitive criteria; "the pursuit of love"; "life is more than the pursuance of fame"; "a quest for wealth"

higher cognitive process - cognitive processes that presuppose the availability of knowledge and put it to use

examination, scrutiny - the act of examining something closely (as for mistakes)

dredge, drag - search (as the bottom of a body of water) for something valuable or lost

finger - search for on the computer; "I fingered my boss and found that he is not logged on in the afternoons"

fumble, grope - feel about uncertainly or blindly; "She groped for her glasses in the darkness of the bedroom"

divine - search by divining, as if with a rod; "He claimed he could divine underground water"

surf, browse - look around casually and randomly, without seeking anything in particular; "browse a computer directory"; "surf the internet or the world wide web"

leave no stone unturned - search thoroughly and exhaustively; "The police left no stone unturned in looking for the President's murderer"

hunt - seek, search for; "She hunted for her reading glasses but was unable to locate them"

gather - look for (food) in nature; "Our ancestors gathered nuts in the Fall"

want - hunt or look for; want for a particular reason; "Your former neighbor is wanted by the FBI"; "Uncle Sam wants you"

scour - examine minutely; "The police scoured the country for the fugitive"

seek out - look for a specific person or thing

quest after, quest for, go after, pursue - go in search of or hunt for; "pursue a hobby"

fish, angle - seek indirectly; "fish for compliments"

grub - search about busily

feel - grope or feel in search of something; "He felt for his wallet"

browse, shop - shop around; not necessarily buying; "I don't need help, I'm just browsing"

hunt - search (an area) for prey; "The King used to hunt these forests"

examine, see - observe, check out, and look over carefully or inspect; "The customs agent examined the baggage"; "I must see your passport before you can enter the country"

cruise - look for a sexual partner in a public place; "The men were cruising the park"

prospect - search for something desirable; "prospect a job"

nose, poke, pry - search or inquire in a meddlesome way; "This guy is always nosing around the office"

prospect - explore for useful or valuable things or substances, such as minerals

re-explore - explore anew; "We need to re-explore Colonialism"

beat about, cast about, cast around - search anxiously

investigate, look into - investigate scientifically; "Let's investigate the syntax of Chinese"

raid - search for something needed or desired; "Our babysitter raided our refrigerator"

frisk - search as for concealed weapons by running the hands rapidly over the clothing and through the pockets; "The police frisked everyone at the airport"

strip-search - search (someone) for weapons or drugs by having the person remove their clothes; "He was strip-searched at the airport"

scan - make a wide, sweeping search of; "The beams scanned the night sky"

rifle, go - go through in search of something; search through someone's belongings in an unauthorized way; "Who rifled through my desk drawers?"

rummage - search haphazardly; "We rummaged through the drawers"

comb, ransack - search thoroughly; "They combed the area for the missing child"

examine, see - observe, check out, and look over carefully or inspect; "The customs agent examined the baggage"; "I must see your passport before you can enter the country"