searching

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɝt͡ʃɪŋ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɜːtʃɪŋ/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)tʃɪŋ

Verb

searching

1. present participle and gerund of search

Adjective

searching (comparative more searching, superlative most searching)

1. (of an investigation, etc.) Thorough.
   • 1916 March, R. A. Millikan, “A Direct Photoelectric Determination of Planck's "h"”, in Physical Review, volume 7, number 3, →DOI, page 388:

     Einstein's photoelectric equation has been subjected to very searching tests and it appears in every case to predict exactly the observed results.

2. Looking over closely; penetrating; severe.

   a searching gaze; searching criticism

   • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 201:

     ‘So you are going out there. Famous. Interesting too.’ He gave me a searching glance, and made another note.

Noun

searching (plural searchings)

1. search; hunt
   • 1978 April 8, Barb Nesto, “Woman from the West”, in Gay Community News, page 10:

     Her songs take us through many mood changes from lighthearted lovesongs and social commentary to a serious searching for answers and understanding.

   • 2007 November 4, Mark Oppenheimer, “The Turning of an Atheist”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     Depending on whom you ask, Antony Flew is either a true convert whose lifelong intellectual searchings finally brought him to God or a senescent scholar possibly being exploited by his associates.

Derived terms

• heartsearching
• job searching
• soul searching

 

Anagrams

• incharges, reachings, rechasing