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to seek out

to seek out

122 3.0
Look for and find a person or thing, often with effort
  • phrasal verb
  • /siːk aʊt/
translation icon : buscar
  • After moving to a new city, she needed to seek out local friends to feel more at home.
  • seek out information
  • seek out opportunities
  • actively seek out

Well, I'm glad that he did seek out real life experiences

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Examples

  • There are a variety of reasons that nontraditional students seek out a higher education.

    Academic text (2008)
  • I am not an attorney, so you would want to seek out legal expertise.

  • And so I would seek out ways to do that.

  • So anyway, I seek out people who are not normal.

  • And I think they are also seeking out community.

  • Teachers should encourage children to seek out the resources necessary to activate effective learning.

    Academic text (2013)
  • Insulate yourself with friends and seek out wild places, he said.

  • Dare to dream and seek out other dreamers.

  • To achieve his goal of an enriching college and educational experience, he sought out various learning opportunities.

    Academic text (2008)
  • A teacher can also actively seek out differences of opinion and encourage dialogue in the classroom.

    Academic text (2008)

Synonyms

to look
vsto seek out
1.0

To try to find someone or something

is more about deliberate effort to locate a particular person or thing
to look for
vsto seek out
1.0

To try to find something or someone

is used for finding a specific person or thing with effort and purpose
to search
vsto seek out
1.0

To try to find something or someone by looking carefully

is more focused on finding a particular person or thing through determined effort
to seek
vsto seek out
1.0

Try to find or get something you want

is about looking for and locating a specific person or thing with effort
to pursue
vsto seek out
3.5

To try to get something you want, like a job or a goal

is more focused on actively locating a particular person or thing than general striving
to go after
vsto seek out
839 2.1

Try to get something you want or follow someone to catch them

is mainly about purposeful locating of a specific person or thing through effort
to look up
vsto seek out
357 1.4

To find information about something in a book, list, or online

is used for actively locating a person or thing, not only checking information sources
to track down
vsto seek out
212 3.3

To search for someone or something until you find them

is more general, focusing on looking with steady purpose rather than long pursuit
to hunt
vsto seek out
190 1.2

To look carefully for something or someone

is used for looking for a specific target with determination rather than casual searching
to hunt down
vsto seek out
148 3.9

Search for and find someone or something after a lot of effort

is more general, used for finding with steady purpose not prolonged chase
to quest for
vsto seek out
64 5.4

To search for something that is hard to find

is used for active looking to find a particular person or thing, not chase
to scour
vsto seek out
57 5.1

To search a place carefully to find someone or something

is about intentional looking and finding a specific target rather than broad clearing
to unearth
vsto seek out
23 4.4

To find hidden facts or things by careful searching

is about active looking and locating a person or thing rather than broad discovery
on the prowl
vsto seek out
  • Informal
14 6.3

To move around while looking for something to catch or get

is about deliberate effort to find a particular person or thing, not ongoing roaming
to ferret out
vsto seek out
  • Informal
13 6.7

To search carefully to find hidden facts or documents

is about determined locating of a person or thing rather than investigation
to cast about
vsto seek out
3 7.2

To look around or think hard to find something you need

is more about deliberate finding of a specific person or thing than anxious searching
to look high and low
vsto seek out
  • Informal
1 3.9

To search everywhere for something that is lost

is the general action of looking with determination, not always exhaustive
to cast around
vsto seek out
1 5.6

To look in a worried way for an idea or solution

is more about focused, determined locating of a person or thing than anxious trying
to rout out
vsto seek out
  • UK
5.5

To find something after a careful search

is focused on locating a specific person or thing with effort
to rout up
vsto seek out
  • UK
8.4

Find something after searching carefully

puts emphasis on finding a particular person or thing through effort
to quest after
vsto seek out
8.0

To go looking for something difficult to find or get

is more for shorter, direct finding with effort rather than long difficult pursuit
to ricercare
vsto seek out
  • Archaic
9.9

To look for something, often in books or old records

is used for ordinary active looking for a person or thing, not scholarly searching

Antonyms

1.0

To stay away from something or not do it to stop something bad from happening

243 2.9

To not notice someone or something you should see

How Determined

to hunt down
148 3.9
to track down
212 3.3
to seek out
122 3.0
to search
1.0
to look for
1.0

Surface Forms

seek out infinitive
seeking out present participle
seeks out third person singular
sought out past
sought out past participle

Morphology

seek + out

The verb 'seek' already means 'to look for', and the particle 'out' here adds a directional/completive nuance (actively locating or finding a specific target), so the overall meaning is transparently built from the constituents. This verb+particle pattern is a regular, predictable compositional construction familiar across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Seek out comes from the simple image of seek meaning to look and out meaning to go away from where you are. Imagine leaving a house and checking every place until you find what you want. So, seek out means 'to look for and find', often with effort.