How to pronounce search
Say it like SURCH. Search is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce search. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- SURCH
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Search pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- SURCHSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ur" in nurse.
American vs British pronunciation of search
- Americans pronounce the r after a vowel; most British speakers leave it silent and lengthen the vowel instead.
British respelling: SURCH.
What does search mean?
- try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of“The police are searching for clues”“They are searching for the missing man in the entire county”
- search or seek“We looked all day and finally found the child in the forest”“Look elsewhere for the perfect gift!”
- inquire into“the students had to research the history of the Second World War for their history project”“He searched for information on his relatives on the web”
- the activity of looking thoroughly in order to find something or someone
- an investigation seeking answers“a thorough search of the ledgers revealed nothing”“the outcome justified the search”
- an operation that determines whether one or more of a set of items has a specified property“they wrote a program to do a table lookup”
Where does search come from?
Inherited from Middle English serchen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman sercher, Old French cerchier, from Late Latin circō,circāre (“to circle; go around; search for”), from circus.
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Words that rhyme with search
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of search.
Questions about saying search
How do you pronounce search?
Say SURCH. The American pronunciation is /sɝtʃ/. In British English it is /sɜːtʃ/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in search?
Search is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: SURCH.
Is search pronounced differently in British English?
Yes. Americans pronounce the r after a vowel; most British speakers leave it silent and lengthen the vowel instead. The British form is /sɜːtʃ/ (SURCH).