seek

Meaning

Verb

1. (ambitransitive) To try to find; to look for; to search for.
2. (transitive) To ask for; to solicit; to beseech.
3. (transitive) To try to acquire or gain; to strive after; to aim at.
4. (intransitive, obsolete) To go, move, travel (in a given direction).
5. (transitive) To try to reach or come to; to go to; to resort to.
6. (intransitive, proscribed, sometimes) To attempt, endeavour, try
7. (intransitive) To navigate through a data stream.

Noun

The operation of navigating through a stream.

Synonyms

look for

search

search for

attempt

try

request

pursue

look

quest

hunt

endeavour

investigate

go after

ask

hunt for

find

🔍

ask for

assay

inquire

examine

get

be after

explore

endeavor

strive

want

chase

pray

🛐

probe

fetch

apply

seek for

aspire

look closely

bid

observe

endeavor

beseech

track

desire

essay

solicit

petition

endeavour

apply for

retrieve

acquire

pick up

plot

call for

Translations

chercher

buscar

🔍

suchen

cercare

procurar

zoeken

buscar

🔍

buscar

🔍

aramak

🔍

cercar

opzoeken

αναζητώ

ricercare

🔍

rechercher

🔍

Pronounced as (IPA)

/siːk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: seken

Cognate with English: seech

Inherited from Old English: sēċan

Cognate with Western Frisian: sykje

Cognate with Dutch: zoeken

Cognate with Low German: söken

Cognate with German: suchen

Cognate with Danish: søge

Cognate with Icelandic: sækja

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål: søke

Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk: søkja

Cognate with Swedish: söka

Inherited from Old English: sēcð

In summary

From Middle English seken (also sechen, whence dialectal English seech), from Old English sēċan (compare beseech); from Proto-West Germanic *sōkijan, from Proto-Germanic *sōkijaną (“to seek”), from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- (“to seek out”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian säike (“to seek”), West Frisian sykje (“to seek”), Dutch zoeken (“to seek”), Low German söken (“to seek”), German suchen (“to seek”), Danish søge (“to seek”), Swedish söka, Norwegian Bokmål søke (“to seek”), Norwegian Nynorsk søkja (“to seek”), Icelandic sækja (“to seek”). The Middle English and later Modern English hard /k/ derives from Old English sēcð, the third person singular; the forms with /k/ were then reinforced by cognate Old Norse sǿkja.

Sentences

Some factions favour a separate state while others seek regional autonomy .