rummage
verb/ˈrʌmɪdʒ/
/ˈrʌmɪdʒ/
[intransitive]Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they rummage | /ˈrʌmɪdʒ/ /ˈrʌmɪdʒ/ |
| he / she / it rummages | /ˈrʌmɪdʒɪz/ /ˈrʌmɪdʒɪz/ |
| past simple rummaged | /ˈrʌmɪdʒd/ /ˈrʌmɪdʒd/ |
| past participle rummaged | /ˈrʌmɪdʒd/ /ˈrʌmɪdʒd/ |
| -ing form rummaging | /ˈrʌmɪdʒɪŋ/ /ˈrʌmɪdʒɪŋ/ |
- + adv./prep. to move things around carelessly while searching for something
- She was rummaging around in her bag for her keys.
- I rummaged through the contents of the box until I found the book I wanted.
Word Originlate 15th cent.: from Old French arrumage, from arrumer ‘stow (in a hold)’, from Middle Dutch ruim ‘room’. In early use the word referred to the arranging of items such as casks in the hold of a ship, giving rise (early 17th cent.) to the verb sense ‘make a search of (a vessel)’.Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
rummage