seek
verb OPAL W
/siːk/
/siːk/
(formal)Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they seek | /siːk/ /siːk/ |
| he / she / it seeks | /siːks/ /siːks/ |
| past simple sought | /sɔːt/ /sɔːt/ |
| past participle sought | /sɔːt/ /sɔːt/ |
| -ing form seeking | /ˈsiːkɪŋ/ /ˈsiːkɪŋ/ |
- [transitive, intransitive] to look for something/somebody
- seek something/somebody Drivers are advised to seek alternative routes.
- Police are not seeking anyone else in connection with the deaths.
- seek for something/somebody (British English) They sought in vain for somewhere to shelter.
Extra Examples- Police are seeking witnesses to the accident.
- We're seeking for alternative materials which might bring the cost down.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- aggressively
- avidly
- eagerly
- …
- continue to
- for
- in
- highly sought after
- [transitive] to ask somebody for something; to try to obtain or achieve something
- seek something I think it's time we sought legal advice.
- They sought refuge in the mountain villages.
- She fled the country and is now seeking asylum in Sweden.
- The pilot sought permission to land.
- EU citizens have the right to seek employment in any member state.
- He has not sought medical treatment for his condition.
- She was determined to seek revenge.
- seek something from somebody She managed to calm him down and seek help from a neighbour.
- We need to seek approval from the local council.
- seek for something/somebody (British English) They came seeking for the truth.
Extra ExamplesTopics Successb2- He intends to seek custody of the children.
- We are currently seeking new ways of expanding our membership.
- I think you should seek guidance from your lawyer on this matter.
- I advise you to seek assistance from the police.
- to seek funding for a project
- He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.
- Employers are seeking further clarification of the proposals.
- It is best to seek a compromise rather than a perfect solution.
- Lawyers are seeking an out-of-court settlement.
- The police are seeking independent confirmation of certain details of the story.
- They are now seeking endorsement for their ideas.
- To receive the benefit, you have to be actively seeking work.
- They sought comfort in each other.
- [intransitive] seek to do something to try to do something synonym attempt
- He sought to establish himself as a writer.
- They quickly sought to distance themselves from the protesters.
Extra Examples- They initially sought to blame others for the disaster.
- He encouraged governments to adopt a more forceful approach in seeking to improve the environment.
- The research project will seek to find an answer to this question.
- The state has actively sought to develop tourism.
- -seeking(in adjectives and nouns) looking for or trying to get the thing mentioned; the activity of doing this
- attention-seeking behaviour
- Voluntary work can provide a framework for job-seeking.
Word OriginOld English sēcan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zieken and German suchen, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin sagire ‘perceive by scent’.
Idioms
seek your fortune
- (literary) to try to find a way to become rich, especially by going to another place
- Many emigrated to Australia to seek their fortune.