Meaning
to carefully examine or investigate in order to find something or someone
Primary Function
expresses a thorough or systematic attempt to find
Communicative Purpose
to describe investigation, exploration, or data retrieval
Pattern
search for
Core Structure
search for
Função primária
expresses a thorough or systematic attempt to find
Propósito comunicativo
to describe investigation, exploration, or data retrieval
Situações de gatilho
research, internet, missing persons, deep exploration
Contextos
academic, professional, everyday
Padrão
search for
Estrutura central
search for
Slots de substituição
noun phrase (the object or person being searched for)
Colocados típicos
- tirelessly
- comprehensively
- online
- conduct a search for
Substituições comuns
- look for
- seek
- hunt for
Erros comuns
using *search something (transitive) for location (search the house), but *search for something is the goal
Similar / contraste
look for, seek, frisk (for a person)
Interferências
learners may use transitive search without ‘for’ for the target (correct: search the database for information)
Família do chunk
- look for
- hunt for
- seek out
- explore
Nuance
‘search for’ highlights the target; ‘search’ + place highlights where
Efeito pragmático
implies determination
Dica de memória
We searched for hours but found nothing.
Nota
This chunk is used when the focus is on the target being searched for, rather than the location being searched. It emphasizes the goal of the search.
Upgrade path
use ‘comb through’ or ‘scour’ for intensive searching
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