as in to search
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something
the police scoured the city for the Typhoid Mary of this latest epidemic
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Recent Examples of scour
Raúl held the ball and leaned over, scouring the ground, sifting through the pebbles for the missing eyeball.
—
Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
Luckily for you, Vanity Fair was on the red carpet, at the show, and scouring the parties for all the best off-camera moments.
—Vanity Fair, 16 Mar. 2026
They’ve been deeply engaged with facilitating multiple administration data-gathering efforts aimed at scouring voter rolls for noncitizens, the officials said.
—Doug Bock Clark, ProPublica, 14 Mar. 2026
By scouring the nation for its contestants and instituting a revolutionary audience-voting system, American Idol became a hot topic in its early seasons and continues to exert influence on music today.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scour
Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
Luckily for you, Vanity Fair was on the red carpet, at the show, and scouring the parties for all the best off-camera moments.
—Vanity Fair, 16 Mar. 2026
They’ve been deeply engaged with facilitating multiple administration data-gathering efforts aimed at scouring voter rolls for noncitizens, the officials said.
—Doug Bock Clark, ProPublica, 14 Mar. 2026
By scouring the nation for its contestants and instituting a revolutionary audience-voting system, American Idol became a hot topic in its early seasons and continues to exert influence on music today.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scour
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scour
Verb
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One desperate woman searching for her uncle even called emergency rooms and police.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
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Read the full report for Tom Burger by searching for the restaurant on the Kansas inspection lookup.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Most of the trouble on this night came from starter Ryan Johnson’s inability to find the strike zone and the defense’s problems converting two plays that should have been made.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
31 Mar. 2026
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The Will County Sheriff's Office confirmed on Monday that more remains have been found in the same location where the bones of a missing man were discovered last week.—
Jeramie Bizzle,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scour.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scour. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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