Meaning & use
search engine
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablecomputing
A website or program that lets you type words and then shows you a list of web pages related to them.
Grammar: Countable: use a search engine, several search engines.
Patterns
- on a search engine
- a search engine for something
I typed the question into a search engine and found the answer in seconds.
Different search engines can give different results for the same query.
Some search engines do not track what you look for.
Word forms
| plural | search engines |
|---|
Common combinations
- use a search engine
- Use a search engine to look up the opening hours.
- popular search engine
- Google is the most popular search engine in many countries.
- search engine results
- The search engine results showed dozens of reviews.
- search engine optimization
- Search engine optimization helps a site appear higher in the results.
- rank high in a search engine
- The shop ranks high in search engines for local searches.
Synonyms and how they differ
- browser
- A browser is the program you use to view web pages, while a search engine is a site that finds pages; many people mix them up.
- web search
- Web search names the activity of looking online, rather than the tool that does the work.
- search tool
- Search tool is a vaguer phrase that could mean any feature that finds things, not just the web.
Word family
Commonly confused: search engine or browser?
search engine vs browser
A browser, like Chrome or Firefox, opens websites; a search engine, like Google, finds websites for you.
Practice
What does a search engine do?
Choose one answer.
A search engine finds and lists pages matching your words. Displaying pages is the job of a browser, which is a tempting confusion.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “search engine”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.