seek
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seek
(sēk)v. sought (sôt), seek·ing, seeks
v.tr.
1. To try to locate or discover; search for: animals seeking prey.
2. To endeavor to obtain or reach: seek a college education.
3. To go to or toward: Water seeks its own level.
4. To inquire for; request: seek directions from a police officer.
5. To try; endeavor: seek to do good.
v.intr.
To make a search or investigation: Seek and you will find.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
seek
(siːk)vb (mainly tr) , seeks, seeking or sought
1. (when: intr, often foll by for or after) to try to find by searching; look for: to seek a solution.
2. (also intr) to try to obtain or acquire: to seek happiness.
3. to attempt (to do something); try: I'm only seeking to help.
4. (also intr) to enquire about or request (something): to seek help.
5. to go or resort to: to seek the garden for peace.
6. an archaic word for explore
[Old English sēcan; related to Old Norse sōkja, Gothic sōkjan, Old High German suohhen, Latin sāgīre to perceive by scent; see beseech]
ˈseeker n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
seek
(sik)v. sought, seek•ing. v.t.
1. to go in search or quest of.
2. to try to discover, as by studying.
3. to try to obtain: to seek fame.
4. to try or attempt (usu. fol. by an infinitive): to seek to convince a person.
5. to ask for; request: to seek advice.
6. Archaic. to search or explore.
v.i. 7. to make inquiry.
[before 900; Middle English seken, Old English sēcan, c. Old Frisian sēka, Old Saxon sōkian, Old High German suohhen (German suchen), Old Norse sŒkja, Gothic sōkjan]
seek′er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
seek
If you seek something such as help, advice, or the solution to a problem, you try to obtain it.
I was seeking the help of someone who spoke French.
Always seek professional legal advice before entering into any agreement.
The past tense and past participle of seek is sought, not 'seeked'.
Some units and formations sought the earliest opportunity to surrender.
His views on the war were sought by the American press.
Seek is often used in writing, but you do not normally use it in conversation. Instead of saying that someone 'seeks' something, you usually say that they try to get it or try to find it.
I tried to get their support for a trade union.
They tried to find other work.
In modern English, you never say that someone seeks a person or an object. You say that they look for the person or object.
I've been looking for you all over.
I looked for it for ages before I found it.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
seek
Past participle: sought
Gerund: seeking
| Imperative |
|---|
| seek |
| seek |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. | seek - the movement of a read/write head to a specific data track on a disk computer science, computing - the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures |
| Verb | 1. | seek - try to get or reach; "seek a position"; "seek an education"; "seek happiness" desire, want - feel or have a desire for; want strongly; "I want to go home now"; "I want my own room" bid - make a serious effort to attain something; "His campaign bid for the attention of the poor population" quest - make a search (for); "Things that die with their eyes open and questing"; "The animal came questing through the forest" |
| 2. | seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the missing man in the entire county" 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 grub - search about busily feel - grope or feel in search of something; "He felt for his wallet" | |
| 3. |  seek - make an effort or attempt; "He tried to shake off his fears"; "The infant had essayed a few wobbly steps"; "The police attempted to stop the thief"; "He sought to improve himself"; "She always seeks to do good in the world"pick up the gauntlet, take a dare - be dared to do something and attempt it act, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel" struggle, fight - make a strenuous or labored effort; "She struggled for years to survive without welfare"; "He fought for breath" have a go, give it a try - make an attempt at something; "I never sat on a horse before but I'll give it a go" grope - search blindly or uncertainly; "His mind groped to make the connection" endeavor, endeavour, strive - attempt by employing effort; "we endeavor to make our customers happy" give it a try, give it a whirl - try; "let's give it a whirl!" adventure, gamble, run a risk, take a chance, take chances, risk, chance, hazard - take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome; "When you buy these stocks you are gambling" lay on the line, put on the line, risk - expose to a chance of loss or damage; "We risked losing a lot of money in this venture"; "Why risk your life?"; "She laid her job on the line when she told the boss that he was wrong" | |
| 4. | seek - go to or towards; "a liquid seeks its own level" go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast" | |
| 5. | seek - inquire for; "seek directions from a local" request - inquire for (information); "I requested information from the secretary" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
seek
verb
1. look for, pursue, search for, be after, hunt, go in search of, go in pursuit of, go gunning for, go in quest of They have had to seek work as labourers.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
seek
verb1. To try to find something:
2. To strive toward a goal:
Idiom: set one's sights on.
3. To endeavor to obtain (something) by expressing one's needs or desires:
4. To make an attempt to do or make:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
بحثيَبْحَثُ عَنيَبْحَثُ عَنْيُحاوِل
hledatsnažit se
søgeprøve
serĉi
etsiä
tražiti
kereskutattörekszik
cari
leita eftir/aîreyna
捜す
찾다
quaerere
graibstomas
censtiesmēģinātmeklēttiekties
iskati
sökasträva efter
หา
aramakuğraşmak
tìm kiếm
seek
[siːk] (sought (pt, pp))A. VT
1. (= look for) [+ work, refuge] → buscar; [+ candidate] → solicitar; [+ honour] → ambicionar
he has been sought in many countries → se le ha buscado en muchos países
it is much sought after → está muy cotizado
to seek death → buscar la muerte
the reason is not far to seek → no es difícil indicar la causa
to seek shelter (from) → buscar abrigo (de)
he has been sought in many countries → se le ha buscado en muchos países
it is much sought after → está muy cotizado
to seek death → buscar la muerte
the reason is not far to seek → no es difícil indicar la causa
to seek shelter (from) → buscar abrigo (de)
B. VI (frm) to seek after or for → buscar
seek out VT + ADV → buscar
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
seek
[ˈsiːk] [sought] (pt, pp) vt (= try to find) [+ work, refuge, route] → chercher
(= ask for) [+ help, advice] → demander
to seek advice from sb → demander conseil à qn
to seek help from sb → demander de l'aide à qn
to seek advice from sb → demander conseil à qn
to seek help from sb → demander de l'aide à qn
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
seek
pret, ptp <sought>vt
(= look for) → suchen; fame, wealth → erlangen wollen, streben nach; to seek somebody’s advice → jdn um Rat fragen; the prosecutors are seeking the death penalty → die Staatsanwaltschaft will die Todesstrafe; the reason is not far to seek → der Grund liegt auf der Hand; the quarrel is not of my seeking → ich habe den Streit nicht gesucht; seek time (Comput) → Zugriffszeit f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
seek
[siːk] (sought (pt, pp))1. vt (gen) to seek (sth/to do sth) → cercare (qc/di fare qc)
to seek shelter (from) → cercar riparo (da)
to seek one's fortune → cercar fortuna
to seek advice/help from sb → chiedere consiglio/aiuto a qn
to seek shelter (from) → cercar riparo (da)
to seek one's fortune → cercar fortuna
to seek advice/help from sb → chiedere consiglio/aiuto a qn
2. vi to seek after, seek for → cercare
seek out vt + adv (person) → andare a cercare
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
seek
(siːk) – past tense, past participle sought (soːt) – verb1. (sometimes with for) to try to find, get or achieve. He is seeking (for) an answer; You should seek your lawyer's advice; She's seeking fame in the world of television.
2. to try. These men are seeking to destroy the government.
sought after wanted; asked for. This book is much sought after; a much sought-after book.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
seek
→ يَبْحَثُ عَنْ hledat søge suchen γυρεύω buscar etsiä chercher tražiti cercare 捜す 찾다 nastreven lete poszukać procurar искать sträva efter หา aramak tìm kiếm 寻求Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
seek
vt buscar; to seek medical attention.. buscar atención médica..acudir al médicoEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.