search engine

noun

: computer software used to search data (such as text or a database) for specified information
also : a site on the World Wide Web that uses such software to locate key words in other sites

Examples of search engine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Android users can pick which search engine to use by default, while iPhone users will get to choose which browser will be their go-to. Kelvin Chan, Fortune Europe, 6 Mar. 2024 Lessons From Influencer Marketing Don't Neglect Niche Influencers In today's digital age, where social media serves as both an information hub and a search engine, brand managers working with influencers are recognizing the need for a more expansive and diverse approach. Aurelie Sauthier, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 Microsoft’s Bing search engine has provided generative AI searches powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology for about a year, first under the name Bing Chat, now rebranded as Copilot. Kelvin Chan, Quartz, 17 Feb. 2024 Bing’s crawlers do the same, and Microsoft licenses its database to other search engines and companies. Peter Rubin, Longreads, 15 Feb. 2024 The date was a two-hour conversation with Sydney, the A.I. alter ego tucked inside Microsoft’s Bing search engine, which I had been assigned to test. Kevin Roose, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2024 TikTok is now one of the world’s most popular search engines, with more than 40 percent of Americans using it as a search engine, according to a 2024 report by Adobe. Taylor Lorenz, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024 Mozilla now makes most of its almost $600 million in annual revenue from promoting Chrome as the default search engine on its home page. Diane Brady, Fortune, 8 Feb. 2024 This includes your default search engine, home page and start pages. Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 20 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'search engine.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1984, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of search engine was in 1984

Dictionary Entries Near search engine

Cite this Entry

“Search engine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/search%20engine. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

search engine

noun
: computer software used to search data (as text or a database) for specified information
also : a website that uses such software

More from Merriam-Webster on search engine

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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