search - to look somewhere carefully in order to find something: The police searched the woods for the missing boy. She searched his face for some sign of forgiveness, but it remained expressionless.He searched (in/through) his pockets for some change. I've searched high and low (= everywhere), but I can't find my birth certificate. The detectives searched the house from top to bottom (= all over it), but they found no sign of the stolen goods.FIGURATIVE She searched her mind/memory for the man's name, but she couldn't remember it. FIGURATIVE People who are searching after inner peace sometimes turn to religion. 2 to try to find the answer to a problem: Philosophers have searched for millennia but they haven't found the meaning of life. 3 A police officer who searches you or your possessions looks for something you might be hiding: The men were searched for drugs and then released. look for sth/sb to try to find something or someone, either because you have lost them or because you need them Have you seen my gloves? I've been looking for them all week. I was looking for Andy. Do you know where he is? How long have you been looking for a job? In seek there is the idea of something not material, intangible In search the idea is that you examine a place carefully in order to find sth. In look for the main idea is that you have lost something.