Dictionary

seek out en · VERB

Etymology

From Middle English seken out, sechen out (“to seek out”), dissimilated from Middle English *outseken, outsechen (“to seek out”). More at outseek.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To try to locate; to search for.
   • At the head of the fiord, and along its sides, can still be seen the hulks of German destroyers and submarines. These sought shelter in this secluded spot, but the British Navy sought them out and sank them. 1953 June, C. E. N. Watts, “Railway Through Lapland”, in Railway Magazine, page 384:
   • Ralph still seeks out physical release. Like Moses, he does his best thinking when he’s swimming. “I think challenging yourself physically is a great way of getting all the crap out of your head,” he said. 2022 October 22, Maureen Dowd, “Ralph Fiennes, Master of Monsters”, in The New York Times:
   • Some of us order far more than we need online. Some of us are so deep in the countryside that delivery vans must divert their routes to seek us out. 2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in The Guardian:

Forms

Synonyms

track down · forseek · hunt down

Translations (7)

ru разы́скивать (to try to locate) · ru иска́ть (to try to locate) · it scovare (to try to locate) · eo serĉi (to try to locate) · it ricercare (to try to locate) · pl wyszukać (to try to locate) · pl wyszukiwać (to try to locate)