What does "seek" mean?
The operation of navigating through a stream.
Seek
/siːk/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The operation of navigating through a stream.
- Grammar: seek is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: address, aim, aimed, aims.
- Useful contrasts: avoid, barrier, deny.
- Usage evidence: When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.
How to use "seek"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "seek" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "seek" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "seek" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "seek" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "seek" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "address" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "seek", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The operation of navigating through a stream.
"The number of seeks to retrieve a shot […] depends on the location of those frames on physical blocks."
- 2 Obsolete form of Sikh. alt-of, obsolete
- 3 the movement of a read/write head to a specific data track on a disk wordnet
Verb
- 1 To try to find; to look for; to search for. ambitransitive
"I seek wisdom."
- 2 inquire for wordnet
- 3 To ask for; to solicit; to beseech. transitive
"I seek forgiveness through repentance."
- 4 try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of wordnet
- 5 To try to acquire or gain; to strive after; to aim at. transitive
"I sought my fortune on the goldfields."
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 go to or towards wordnet
- 7 To go, move, travel (in a given direction). intransitive, obsolete
"Ryght so he sought[…]towarde Sandewyche where he founde before hym many galyard knyghtes"
- 8 try to get or reach wordnet
- 9 To try to reach or come to; to go to; to resort to. transitive
"When the alarm went off I sought the exit in a panic."
- 10 make an effort or attempt wordnet
- 11 To attempt, endeavour, try intransitive, proscribed, sometimes
"Our company does not seek to limit its employees from using the internet or engaging in social networking."
- 12 To navigate through a data stream. intransitive
"Most of the changes made to this control are to accommodate the various constraints that playback of streaming media may impose in broadcast streams, such as the inability to seek through the media."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from German.
Example
"When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "seek"?
Common synonyms include: address, aim, aimed, aims, angle, angle a mirror.
How do you use "seek" in a sentence?
When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.
How do you pronounce "seek"?
Pronounced /siːk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English seken (also sechen, whence dialectal English seech), from Old English sēċan (compare beseech); from Proto-West Germanic *sōkijan, from Proto-Germanic *sōkijaną (“to seek”), from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- (“to seek out”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian säike (“to seek”), West Frisian sykje (“to seek”), Dutch zoeken (“to seek”), Low German söken (“to seek”), German suchen (“to seek”), Danish søge (“to seek”), Swedish söka, Norwegian Bokmål søke (“to seek”), Norwegian Nynorsk søkja (“to seek”), Icelandic sækja (“to seek”). The Middle English and later Modern English hard /k/ derives from Old English sēcð, the third person singular; the forms with /k/ were then reinforced by cognate Old Norse sǿkja.
Etymology 2
* As a North/Low German surname, from Seek, variant of Seeck, shortened from compound names containing the element Sieg (“victory”) (as in Siegfried) or siech (“ill”). * As a Chinese surname, Romanized from 薛 (xuē), see Xue.