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rummaging
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Rummaging

Rummage \Rum"mage\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rummaged; p. pr. & vb. n. Rummaging.]

  1. (Naut.) To make room in, as a ship, for the cargo; to move about, as packages, ballast, so as to permit close stowage; to stow closely; to pack; -- formerly written roomage, and romage. [Obs.]

    They might bring away a great deal more than they do, if they would take pain in the romaging.
    --Hakluyt.

  2. To search or examine thoroughly by looking into every corner, and turning over or removing goods or other things; to examine, as a book, carefully, turning over leaf after leaf.

    He . . . searcheth his pockets, and taketh his keys, and so rummageth all his closets and trunks.
    --Howell.

    What schoolboy of us has not rummaged his Greek dictionary in vain for a satisfactory account!
    --M. Arnold.

Wiktionary
rummaging

n. The act of one who rummages. vb. (present participle of rummage English)

Usage examples of "rummaging".

Lily advised against her better judgment, but Alden was so happily energized at the moment when he had been sloping around the house so dispiritedly for weeks even as he acted at keeping busy making plans and rummaging in the barn for agrarian implements to polish and sharpen and balance, that Lily could not bring herself to discourage him now.

I tore the packs from his hand and wrenched open the one with the letter, rummaging frantically until I found it.

After rummaging in a chest, Hyacinthe brought me pen and paper, shaving the quill with a sharp knife and setting the inkpot at hand.

He forgot what he had been seeking among his belongings, rummaging for reassurance among his books and folded sweaters.

Halice was calming our horses with soft words and dried apple while Livak was rummaging in the gig for something to clean her daggers with.

Brushing by Aleytys, she pushed past the curtain and could be heard rummaging about in the bedroom.

She found one, threw it to the valaad standing quietly beside the carrier and continued rummaging about, scattering the cells carelessly as she hunted.

Cirocco began rummaging through his pack, taking things they could use.

The shaman was laughing and rummaging through a large box, throwing out tambourines and banjos and other small percussive instruments.

Dania saw him rummaging around and then he came back inside carrying a black toolbox.

I looked up and down the street while rummaging in my bag for the set of lockpicks with which one of my informants had presented me.

Were his friends already dead, or locked up in rooms like this one, with strange programs rummaging through the cells of their brain, awakening primal fears of pain and dissolution?

Spike carried on rummaging in the dirt so the SO-6 agent shrugged resignedly and started to walk back up the embankment.

Then, obviously feeling that he was wasting time, he strode back to the incubating room and started rummaging in filing cabinets and desk drawers.

Tas awoke first and, being a considerate kender, he took pains not to wake Usha, even refraining - with a heroic effort of will - from rummaging through her pouches, one of which she was using as a pillow.