Meaning & use
seek
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To look for or try to get something, especially by deliberate effort.
Grammar: Usually takes an object: seek help; used without one in seek and find.
Patterns
- seek something
- seek out someone
- seek to do something
Many families seek shelter during the storm.
She sought a new job in another city.
Travelers came to the town seeking adventure.
verbtransitive
To ask for something such as advice, help or permission.
Grammar: Takes an object: seek advice, seek approval.
Patterns
- seek advice from someone
- seek permission to do something
You should seek medical advice if the pain continues.
He sought permission from the committee before starting.
They sought help from a local charity.
verbtransitive
To try or aim to do something.
Grammar: Followed by to and the infinitive: seek to understand.
Patterns
- seek to do something
The study seeks to explain why prices rose.
The new law seeks to protect small farmers.
She sought to calm the nervous crowd.
Word forms
| third person singular | seeks |
|---|---|
| past tense | sought |
| past participle | sought |
| -ing form | seeking |
Common combinations
- seek advice
- If you are unsure, seek advice from a professional.
- seek help
- Do not hesitate to seek help.
- seek asylum
- Many refugees seek asylum abroad.
- seek revenge
- He sought revenge for the insult.
- seek employment
- She is seeking employment in teaching.
- seek out
- Reporters sought out witnesses.
Synonyms and how they differ
- look for
- Look for is the everyday phrase, while seek is more formal and often about goals or help.
- pursue
- Pursue suggests chasing something actively, while seek can be a quieter search.
- request
- Request means to ask politely, while seek covers searching and asking.
- hunt for
- Hunt for is more informal and suggests an intense search.
Opposites
Word family
- seeker noun
- a person who looks for something, as in job seeker
- sought-after adjective
- wanted by many people
- asylum seeker noun
- a person asking another country for protection
- seeking noun
- the act of searching for something
Commonly confused: seek or search? seek or sought?
seek vs search
Search usually looks through a place (search the house), while seek is more formal and takes the thing wanted (seek help).
seek vs sought
Sought is the past form of seek; avoid the nonstandard seeked.
Practice
Yesterday the hikers ____ shelter from the storm in an old barn.
Choose one answer.
Seek is irregular, so the past tense is sought. Seeked is a common error.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “seek”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.