rummage
1 of 2verb
rum·mage ˈrə-mij 
rummaged; rummaging
intransitive verb
1
: to make a thorough search or investigation
2
: to engage in an undirected or haphazard search
transitive verb
1
: to make a thorough search through : ransack
rummaged the attic
2
: to examine minutely and completely
3
: to discover by searching
rummager noun
rummage
2 of 2noun
1
a
: a confused miscellaneous collection
b
: items for sale at a rummage sale
2
: a thorough search especially among a confusion of objects
Synonyms
Verb
- ascertain
- descry
- detect
- determine
- dig out
- dig up
- discover
- dredge (up)
- ferret (out)
- find
- find out
- get
- hit (on or upon)
- hunt (down or up)
- learn
- locate
- nose out
- root (out)
- rout (out)
- run down
- scare up
- scout (up)
- track (down)
- turn up
Noun
- agglomerate
- agglomeration
- alphabet soup
- assortment
- botch
- clutter
- collage
- crazy quilt
- farrago
- gallimaufry
- grab bag
- gumbo
- hash
- hodgepodge
- hotchpotch
- jambalaya
- jumble
- jungle
- litter
- macédoine
- medley
- mélange
- menagerie
- miscellanea
- miscellany
- mishmash
- mixed bag
- montage
- motley
- muddle
- olio
- olla podrida
- omnium-gatherum
- pastiche
- patchwork
- patchwork quilt
- potpourri
- ragbag
- ragout
- salad
- salmagundi
- scramble
- shuffle
- smorgasbord
- stew
- tumble
- variety
- welter
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb He rummaged through the attic for his baseball card collection. He rummaged in his pocket for the receipt. I heard you rummaging around in the refrigerator. Noun a rummage of textbooks, notebooks, and old school papers all over the desk
Recent Examples on the Web
Emma Colton, Fox News, 5 Sep. 2022 Pointing out their proficiency at stealing bases is a bit like reaching under a stack of C-notes to rummage through the change drawer. Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2022 The office workers said they are directed to shred everything, even mostly blank pieces of paper with no patient information, because protesters rummage through the garbage. Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2022 And to be able to really rummage through it, and not perform rummaging through it. Kate Aurthur, Variety, 14 Aug. 2022 Playdates were often an excuse to rummage through friends’ medicine cabinets to see what exactly womanhood required. Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 June 2022 As a student at LaGuardia High School of Music and Art, Kosann would head downtown after class to rummage through antiques stores. Lindsay Talbot, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2022 Another man who had been waiting for a bus stopped to rummage through the debris. Rachel Uranga, oregonlive, 17 Jan. 2022 Another man who had been waiting for a bus stopped to rummage through the debris. Rachel Uranga, oregonlive, 17 Jan. 2022 Erik Morse, Vogue, 23 Aug. 2022 Fifteen miles from the seat of the Indian government, cows rummage for fruit peels and pigs wallow in stagnant water. Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 25 July 2022 Mark your calendar for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Fairview Park Senior Center for the center’s rummage and craft sale, just in time for the holidays. Carol Kovach, cleveland, 10 Nov. 2021 The man shouts up to the loft into which a ladder disappears, and after a minute’s rummage some invisible hand tosses down bundles of fresh stock and a packet of sample invitations. Rafil Kroll-zaidi, Harper’s Magazine , 4 Jan. 2022 The money, about $150,000 so far, has been raised by bake sales, rummage sales, tea parties, tours of the local castle, everything imaginable, even historical cheese. Carl Nolte, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 Oct. 2021 If someone needs something from the office, management will have interns rummage through your desk for you. Eugene Lim, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2021 After the pandemic canceled many area communitywide rummage sales last summer, some are making a comeback this year. Cathy Kozlowicz, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2021 Chavez, 33, stood in the backyard on Wednesday morning watching his three dogs and a potbellied pig rummage in the snow. Maria Jimenez Moya, Star Tribune, 18 Feb. 2021 See More
Verb
California officials are warning residents to not approach bears, saying the large animals will rummage for food before returning to their habitats. Emma Colton, Fox News, 5 Sep. 2022 Pointing out their proficiency at stealing bases is a bit like reaching under a stack of C-notes to rummage through the change drawer. Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2022 The office workers said they are directed to shred everything, even mostly blank pieces of paper with no patient information, because protesters rummage through the garbage. Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2022 And to be able to really rummage through it, and not perform rummaging through it. Kate Aurthur, Variety, 14 Aug. 2022 Playdates were often an excuse to rummage through friends’ medicine cabinets to see what exactly womanhood required. Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 June 2022 As a student at LaGuardia High School of Music and Art, Kosann would head downtown after class to rummage through antiques stores. Lindsay Talbot, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2022 Another man who had been waiting for a bus stopped to rummage through the debris. Rachel Uranga, oregonlive, 17 Jan. 2022 Another man who had been waiting for a bus stopped to rummage through the debris. Rachel Uranga, oregonlive, 17 Jan. 2022 Noun
Taken together, Against All Odds is more than a shiny souvenir for Blondie fans or a rummage through the band’s archive. Erik Morse, Vogue, 23 Aug. 2022 Fifteen miles from the seat of the Indian government, cows rummage for fruit peels and pigs wallow in stagnant water. Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 25 July 2022 Mark your calendar for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Fairview Park Senior Center for the center’s rummage and craft sale, just in time for the holidays. Carol Kovach, cleveland, 10 Nov. 2021 The man shouts up to the loft into which a ladder disappears, and after a minute’s rummage some invisible hand tosses down bundles of fresh stock and a packet of sample invitations. Rafil Kroll-zaidi, Harper’s Magazine , 4 Jan. 2022 The money, about $150,000 so far, has been raised by bake sales, rummage sales, tea parties, tours of the local castle, everything imaginable, even historical cheese. Carl Nolte, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 Oct. 2021 If someone needs something from the office, management will have interns rummage through your desk for you. Eugene Lim, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2021 After the pandemic canceled many area communitywide rummage sales last summer, some are making a comeback this year. Cathy Kozlowicz, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2021 Chavez, 33, stood in the backyard on Wednesday morning watching his three dogs and a potbellied pig rummage in the snow. Maria Jimenez Moya, Star Tribune, 18 Feb. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
obsolete English romage act of stowing cargo, modification of Middle French arrimage, from arrimer to stow, from a- (from Latin ad-) + -rimer, from Middle English rimen to open up, make room for, from Old English rȳman — more at ream
First Known Use
Verb
1582, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Phrases Containing rummage
Kids Definition
rummage 1 of 2
verb
rum·mage ˈrə-mij
rummaged; rummaging
: to search especially by moving and looking through the contents of a place or container
… Henry and his father rummaged through the basement until they found a gallon jar … Beverly Cleary, Henry Huggins
Beverly Cleary, Henry Hugginsrummage
2 of 2noun
: a mixed up collection of different articles
rummage 1 of 2
noun
as in jumble
an unorganized collection or mixture of various things a rummage of textbooks, notebooks, and old school papers all over the desk Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- jumble
- assortment
- variety
- medley
- collage
- clutter
- scramble
- shuffle
- miscellanea
- litter
- miscellany
- potpourri
- smorgasbord
- ragbag
- gallimaufry
- mishmash
- salad
- stew
- hash
- blend
- hodgepodge
- jungle
- patchwork
- hotchpotch
- tumble
- amalgam
- salmagundi
- farrago
- grab bag
- gumbo
- mélange
- tangle
- accumulation
- patchwork quilt
- mixed bag
- pastiche
- agglomeration
- jambalaya
- motley
- alphabet soup
- menagerie
- montage
- macédoine
- ragout
- botch
- crazy quilt
- muddle
- olio
- combination
- welter
- detritus
- agglomerate
- aggregation
- olla podrida
- oddments
- omnium-gatherum
- conglomerate
- aggregate
- sundries
- conglomeration
- notions
- mess
- fusion
- catchall
- compound
- disarray
- chaos
- composite
- commixture
- disarrangement
- morass
- alloy
- snarl
- admixture
- intermixture
- disorder
- shambles
- imbroglio
- confusion
- odds and ends
- dog's breakfast
- bollix
- mix-up
- knot
rummage
2 of 2verb
1
as in to find
to come upon after searching, study, or effort at the last minute she rummaged a costume from the attic Synonyms & Similar Words
- find
- discover
- learn
- locate
- get
- ascertain
- detect
- descry
- determine
- find out
- run down
- dig out
- turn up
- nose out
- dig up
- espy
- scare up
- spot
- sight
- seek
- dredge (up)
- track (down)
- scout (up)
- hunt (down or up)
- hit (on or upon)
- ferret (out)
- rout (out)
- look for
- root (out)
- search (for or out)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- miss
- pass over
- overlook
- mislay
- lose
- misplace
- misset
2
as in to search
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something he rummaged the desk drawer trying to find the spare keys Synonyms & Similar Words
- search
- scan
- find
- comb
- scour
- survey
- ransack
- rake
- locate
- dredge
- explore
- rifle
- examine
- investigate
- troll
- inspect
- discover
- review
- scrutinize
- audit
- hunt (through)
- ascertain
- snoop
- frisk
- dig (through)
- peruse
- shake down
- detect
- learn
- browse
- descry
- pat down
- find out
- determine
- run down
- study
- probe
- sort (through)
- prospect
- scare up
- get
- look over
- skirmish
- check (out)
- track (down)
- poke (around)
- hit (on or upon)
- ferret (out)
- grub (about)
- glance (over)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- hide
- lose
- abandon
- ignore
- neglect