DictionaryAI

seek

SEEK/siːk/

Formsseeks, seeking, sought

7 meanings of seek

Practice

  1. 1
    try to getverbtransitive
    To strive to acquire or gain something; to aim at a particular goal.

    The candidates seek the support of undecided voters.

    She left her hometown to seek a better life abroad.

    UsageTakes goals as objects: seek fame, seek a better life. More formal than try to get.

    Similarpursue, court, chase

    Oppositeavoid, shun

    Note

    George Q. Cannon (1880) says in a sermon that persecution "sought the lives" of men, meaning it tried to take them. Emerson Hough's The Purchase Price (1910) has a stray curl that "sought egress." That figurative reach lets forces, institutions and even objects seek, where "try to get" would sound odd.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Cannon described persecution as seeking men's lives, meaning their deaths. journalofdiscourses.com
    • Emerson Hough wrote The Purchase Price, published in 1910. gutenberg.org
    • The novel's narrator describes a stray curl as having sought egress. gutenberg.org
  2. 2
    look forverbtransitive or intransitive
    To try to find someone or something by looking or searching, including trying to find or reach a place of safety such as shelter or refuge.

    Investigators seek any witnesses who saw the accident.

    Rescue teams spent the night seeking the missing hikers along the mountain trails.

    UsagePast form sought (not incorrect: seeked). More formal than look for: seek shelter, seek witnesses.

    Similarsearch for, look for

    Oppositeavoid, shun

  3. 3
    attemptverbintransitive
    To attempt or endeavor to do something.

    The new policy seeks to reduce traffic in the city center.

    Scientists seek to explain how memories form.

    UsageFollowed by to + verb: the plan seeks to cut traffic. Formal; in everyday writing, try to is simpler.

    Similartry, attempt, aim, strive, endeavor

  4. 4
    ask forverbtransitive
    To ask for or request something, such as help, advice, or approval.

    The committee will seek input from local residents.

    Defendants often seek a lawyer's guidance before trial.

    UsageSeek something from someone: seek advice from a lawyer. Seek of someone sounds biblical or very formal.

    Similarrequest, solicit, ask

    Note

    Here seeking is asking, and older English marked the person asked with of. The King James Bible of 1611 has "sought of him a sign", and Lobsang Rampa's The Rampa Story (1960) still writes of a woman "of whom I sought directions".

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

Less common meanings

  1. 5
    jump to (data)verbintransitive
    To move directly to a specific position within a data stream rather than reading through it in order.

    The media player can seek to any timestamp almost instantly.

    Disk heads seek across the platter to locate the requested data.

    Similarscrub

    Note

    Not every stream allows it. Playback of a live broadcast may be unable to seek at all, which is why player controls have to accommodate that constraint. Scrub is the near-synonym for the same action in playback controls.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  2. 6
    verbobsoleteintransitive
    To go, move, or travel in a particular direction.
    Note

    A motion verb with no object, where the direction does the work: Thomas Malory writes "Ryght so he sought" and then gives the bearing, "towarde Sandewyche," meaning he headed that way, with no search implied. It shades into seeking out a refuge, where reaching a goal matters.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Seek has an obsolete intransitive sense meaning to move or travel in a given direction. en.wiktionary.org
    • Malory uses the quoted wording, with towarde Sandewyche specifying the direction of movement. en.wiktionary.org
  3. 7
    noun
    The operation of moving directly to a particular position within a data stream.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of seek apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle English seken, from Old English sēċan, from Proto-West Germanic *sōkijan and Proto-Germanic *sōkijaną ("to seek"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- ("to seek out"). It is related to Dutch zoeken, German suchen, and Icelandic sækja, and the hard /k/ in modern English comes from an Old English form and was perhaps reinforced by Old Norse sǿkja.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

  • English seek descends from Middle English seken. en.wiktionary.org
  • Middle English seken descends from Old English sēċan, through Proto-West Germanic *sōkijan and Proto-Germanic *sōkijaną. en.wiktionary.org
  • Proto-Germanic *sōkijaną means to seek. en.wiktionary.org
  • The ancestry ultimately reaches Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g-, glossed as to seek out. en.wiktionary.org
  • Dutch zoeken, German suchen and Icelandic sækja are cognates of English seek. en.wiktionary.org
  • Modern English /k/ derives from an Old English inflected form. en.wikipedia.org