# seek

/ˈsik/ (US) · /sˈiːk/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/seek
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. to look for

verb · CEFR B2

to try to find something or someone.

For teachers: to search for or try to locate a person, place, or object.

- The hikers had to seek shelter when the storm suddenly began.
- The researchers traveled to the remote archipelago to seek rare plant species that had not been documented for over a century.

### 2. to ask for

verb · CEFR B2 · Formal

to ask for help, advice, or permission.

For teachers: to request or solicit something from another person or authority.

- You should seek legal advice before you sign the contract.
- The diplomat was instructed to seek an audience with the prime minister to discuss the escalating border dispute.

### 3. to try to achieve

verb · CEFR B2 · Academic

to try to get or achieve something, like a goal or a new job.

For teachers: to strive after or attempt to acquire a non-physical objective.

- Many young people move to the city to seek their fortune.
- The company continues to seek innovative ways to reduce its carbon footprint while maintaining high production levels.

### 4. to navigate data

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to move to a specific part of a video, audio file, or computer data.

For teachers: to move a read head or pointer to a specific location within a data stream or on a storage device.

- The video player allows you to seek to any timestamp instantly.
- The application experienced significant latency because the hard drive had to seek across multiple sectors to retrieve the fragmented file.

### 5. data navigation

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

the act of moving to a specific point in a digital file.

For teachers: the operation of moving a pointer or playback head to a specific position in a stream.

- The slow seek time on the old disk made the computer feel very laggy.
- Optimizing the database reduced the number of random seeks required, significantly improving the overall query performance.

## Examples

- You should seek medical advice if the pain continues.
- The company decided to seek legal counsel before signing the international merger agreement.
- In the digital age, users often seek information through complex algorithms, yet the quality of the results depends heavily on the precision of the search terms provided.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.