Meaning & use
searched high and low
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Meaning
phraseidiom
Looked in every possible place, especially when trying hard to find someone or something.
Grammar: Past tense; the base form is 'search high and low'. Often followed by 'for' to name what you wanted.
Patterns
- searched high and low for someone/something
- searched high and low to find someone/something
I searched high and low for my keys and finally found them in the fridge.
The police searched high and low for the missing child.
She searched high and low, but the letter was nowhere in the house.
Word forms
| base form | search high and low |
|---|---|
| third person singular | searches high and low |
| present participle | searching high and low |
| past tense | searched high and low |
| past participle | searched high and low |
Common combinations
- searched high and low for
- They searched high and low for the missing passport.
- searched high and low but couldn't find
- We searched high and low but couldn't find the cat.
- searched high and low everywhere
- He searched high and low everywhere in the office.
Synonyms and how they differ
- looked everywhere
- A plain, direct way to say the same thing; 'searched high and low' sounds more emphatic and idiomatic.
- hunted around
- Suggests a more casual, less thorough search; 'searched high and low' implies you were very thorough.
Word family
Commonly confused: searched high and low or searched far and wide?
searched high and low vs searched far and wide
This means you looked over a large area or many places, not necessarily every single spot; 'high and low' stresses looking everywhere, including unlikely places.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'searched high and low' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The idiom is followed by 'for' when you name what you are looking for. The other options use the wrong preposition or no preposition at all.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “searched high and low”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.