rummaged; rummaging
1
: to make a thorough search or investigation
2
: to engage in an undirected or haphazard search
1
: to make a thorough search through : ransack
rummaged the attic
2
: to examine minutely and completely
3
: to discover by searching
rummager
noun
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
Examples of rummage in a Sentence
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
Dev Patnaik, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Zion finishes off the standard base trailer with a set of four bed lights for easily rummaging through cargo after dark and a rocker switch panel for those lights and available auxiliary and rock lights.
—New Atlas, 4 Nov. 2024
Kris Holt, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024
Another, a little farther west, rummages through trash cans in Pacific Palisades.
—Ali Martin, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rummage 
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Verb
That's a little like having a stomachache and solving it by rummaging blindly through your neighbor’s medicine cabinet.
—Dev Patnaik, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Zion finishes off the standard base trailer with a set of four bed lights for easily rummaging through cargo after dark and a rocker switch panel for those lights and available auxiliary and rock lights.
—New Atlas, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
Today’s groups are... Yellow group — rummage Green group — sounds of thunder
Blue group — ways to wear your hair up
Purple group — things that can have leaves
What Are Today’s Connections Answers?
Spoiler alert!
—Kris Holt, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024
Another, a little farther west, rummages through trash cans in Pacific Palisades.
—Ali Martin, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rummage
Dictionary Entries Near rummage
Cite this Entry
“Rummage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rummage. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rummage
1 of 2 verb
rum·mage
ˈrəm-ij 
rummaged; rummaging
: to make an active search especially by moving, turning, or looking through the contents of a place or container
rummaging through the attic
rummage
2 of 2 noun
: a confused miscellaneous collection of articles
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