rummage
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rummage around
To dig or root around aimlessly (in or through some cluttered location). Usually used in the continuous tense. I think I can hear Tom rummaging around up in the attic again. A raccoon had gotten into the dumpster and was rummaging around for something to eat. He walked into the office and caught two men rummaging around.
rummage around for (something)
To dig or root around aimlessly (in or through some cluttered location) in order to find something. A noun or pronoun can be used between "around" and "for" to specify where one is looking. Usually used in the continuous tense. I think Tom's rummaging around for something up in the attic. A raccoon had gotten into the dumpster and was rummaging around for something to eat. I caught my brother rummaging around my purse for money again.
rummage around in (something)
To dig or root around aimlessly in or through some cluttered location. Usually used in the continuous tense. I caught my brother rummaging around in my desk again. A raccoon was rummaging around in the dumpster for something to eat.
rummage around in (something) for (something)
To dig or root around aimlessly in or through some cluttered location in order to find something. I caught my brother rummaging around in my purse for money again. A raccoon was rummaging around in the dumpster for something to eat.
rummage through (something) (for something)
To dig or root around aimlessly in or through some cluttered place or collection of things in order to find something. I caught my brother rummaging through my purse again. A raccoon was rummaging through the dumpster for something to eat. We spent the whole afternoon rummaging through old photographs of Granny Mary, picking the best ones for her memorial service.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
rummage around (somewhere) (for something)
to move things about haphazardly while looking for something somewhere. Alice rummaged around in the drawer for a candy bar she had been saving. After she rummaged around for the candy bar, she found it. She rummaged around in the old trunk.
rummage through something
to move things about haphazardly while searching through something. I rummaged through my top drawer, looking for any two socks that matched. Mary spent some time rummaging through the toolbox before she found what she was looking for.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.