cast about
Look around desperately
Cast about means to search or look around, often with some uncertainty or desperation.
The image is of casting a net or line in different directions hoping to catch something: She cast about for an excuse, He cast about the room looking for his keys.
The phrase suggests effort without a clear target—trying various options to find what you need.
Try to find
- huntPursuit of quarry
- gropeFeel about blindly
- fumbleHandle with clumsy fingers
- rummageSearch unsystematically through clutter
scour · forage · fish · look · quest · scout · pursue · probe
Pause in uncertainty
- waverHesitate or fluctuate
- flounderStruggle awkwardly, or seafood
- gropeFeel about blindly
- fumbleHandle with clumsy fingers
ponder · deliberate · vacillate · dither · falter · waffle · struggle · grapple
seek
Try to find
rummage · scour · forage · fish · look · quest · scout · pursue · probe · root
hesitate
Pause in uncertainty
fumble · ponder · deliberate · vacillate · dither · falter · waffle · struggle · grapple · wrestle
roam
Travel without fixed purpose
- driftGradual movement, no direction
- meanderTo travel without direction
- rambleMove or speak without direction
stray · rove · range · circle · mill · veer · tack · navigate · course · aimless
devise
Create through ingenuity
strategize · maneuver · concoct · hatch · formulate · design · engineer · machinate · conspire · calculate
- fishing idiomshook line and sinker, fish out of water, the one that got away, fishing for compliments, fish or cut bait
- gropinggrope, fumble, feel, feel around, reach
- investigatinginvestigate, examine, inspect, probe, search
- searchsearch, web search, seek, text search, hunt
cast aboutzero in on
Focus precisely upon
home in on · target · beeline · focus on · pinpoint
about, cast, broadcast, casting, broadcasting, casts, broadcaster, recast, broadcasts