to rummage
35
3.8
- verb
- /ˈrʌmɪdʒ/
:
revolver
- Then he opened his suitcase, rummaged around, and came up with a bag of peanuts.
- rummage around
- rummage through garbage
- begin to rummage
Examples
-
I sat down beside him and rummaged through my knapsack for a novel.
Academic text (2005) -
Now she opened a bureau drawer and began rummaging through the contents.
Fiction book (1992) -
Rummage around back there, see what you come up with.
-
Then he returned to the drinks cabinet to rummage in a bottom drawer.
Fiction book (1991) -
I was rummaging around my music corner and I come across this.
-
"What are you looking for?" he asks her when she rummages in a drawer.
Fiction book (1990) -
Mabel pulled her purse to her lap and began rummaging for her cigarettes.
Academic text (1991) -
If he's here, who's rummaging through our trash?
-
I slammed the door, rummaged in the cupboard, and fetched a bag of marshmallows.
Fiction book (1990) -
He rummaged through the attic, searching for his old toys.
Synonyms
42
3.7
To move things or people from one place to another, often repeatedly
39
4.8
To move your hands clumsily while trying to find something
38
6.3
To search a place roughly and steal things while making a mess
8
6.7
To search quickly and carelessly through places like drawers to steal things
5
6.5
To feel around with your hands to find something
To search through a place or container in a messy way
To search carefully through things in a small place like a bag or box
Antonyms
Compounds
How Thorough
Surface Forms
Etymology
Rummage comes from an old French verb like remuer meaning 'to stir' or 'move things'. So to rummage is to 'stir' through a bag, drawer, or box—moving things around quickly and loudly until you find what you need.