search engine


noun

a computer program that searches documents, especially on the World Wide Web, for a specified word or words and provides a list of documents in which they are found.
Also called retrieval engine.

Origin of search engine

1990–95

Example sentences from the Web for search engine

British Dictionary definitions for search engine

search engine

noun

computing a service provided on the internet enabling users to search for items of interest

Cultural definitions for search engine

search engine

Web sites or software that search the Internet for documents that contain a key word, phrase, or subject that is specified by the user to the search engine. Each engine has its own method of searching for information.