rooted around
Dug through stuff
To root around is to search by rummaging or digging through things, the way a pig roots in dirt with its snout.
The past tense rooted around describes this kind of unfocused, physical searching: She rooted around in her purse for her keys.
The search is usually casual rather than systematic, often through cluttered or disorganized spaces.
- rummagingSearching by moving things
- researchingMethodical investigation of a topic
- looking intoExamining or researching
- diggingRemoving earth below
- siftingSeparating by particle size
nosing about · analyzing · curious · unearthing · foraging · delving · ferreting · persistent · scrutinizing · burrowing · turning over · exploring · inquisitive · snuffling · sniffing out · grubbing · sorting · scouring
rooted aroundpinpointed
Located with exactness
catalogued · indexed · targeted · looked up · combed through
root, rooted, rooting, roots, rootless, rootedness, uproot, uprooted, uprooting