Search the meaning

Search Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

1 of 2

ˈsərch

transitive verb

: to look into or over carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something: such as

: to examine in seeking something

searched the north field

: to look through or explore by inspecting possible places of concealment or investigating suspicious circumstances

: to read thoroughly : check

especially : to examine a public record or register for information about

search land titles

: to examine for articles concealed on the person

: to look at as if to discover or penetrate intention or nature

: to uncover, find, or come to know by inquiry or scrutiny

—usually used with out

intransitive verb

: to look or inquire carefully

searched for the papers

: to make painstaking investigation or examination

searchability

ˌsər-chə-ˈbi-lə-tē

noun

searchable

ˈsər-chə-bəl

adjective

searcher noun

searchingly

ˈsər-chiŋ-lē

adverb

2 of 2

: an act of searching

a search for food

go in search of help

: an act of boarding and inspecting a ship on the high seas in exercise of right of search

obsolete : a party that searches

: power or range of penetrating

also : a penetrating effect

Synonyms

Verb

comb
dig (through)
dredge
hunt (through)
rake
ransack
rifle
rummage
scour
sort (through)
troll

Noun

hunt
quest

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Example Sentences

Verb They haven't found him yet, so they have to keep searching. The police searched her for concealed weapons. He was searched by the guard before he was allowed to enter the courtroom. The software allows you to search thousands of sites at the same time. She searched for information on the Web. He searched her face, hoping to see some glimmer of emotion. Noun We will begin a search for a new manager this week. I performed a search for the file. I did a Web search for restaurants in that area. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Now, with this plan to search for ice on the Moon, NASA is hoping to learn more about our lunar satellite before sending humans back to it. —Jacob Siegal, BGR, 13 Dec. 2022 The process involves using a DNA profile to search for close male relatives to the contributor. —Gina Martinez, CBS News, 13 Dec. 2022 Andis acknowledged that the deputies did not obtain a warrant to search the residence and found no victims on the property. —Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2022 Incoming House Judiciary chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio is poised to press the Justice Department on the decision to search Trump’s Palm Beach, Fla., home as well. —Josh Dawsey, Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2022 Smith said the rule was to encourage the RV and trailer owners to get out and search for jobs, housing or services, and to discourage them from getting too comfortable at the parking lot. —San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Dec. 2022 Dozens of police officers in the area began to search for the wayward pup. —Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 10 Dec. 2022 In 2019, thanks to advances in DNA technology, investigators used DNA evidence found on the swabs to search for possible relatives of Rolf's killer, the complaint says. —Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 9 Dec. 2022 The move and search for a permanent CEO comes as VF Corp. tempers its fiscal year 2023 outlook. —Steve Larese, Outside Online, 9 Dec. 2022

It was conducted remotely and at different times, while the clinical trial search tool itself continued to be iterated. —Saira Ghafur, WIRED , 26 Dec. 2022 But the healthcare provider was the subject of multiple criminal search warrants in October of that year, when dozens of FBI and state Department of Justice agents turned up at clinics and administrative offices. —San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Dec. 2022 After the 2004 reelection of George W. Bush, the 2020 election of Joe Biden and the 2016 election of Donald Trump, Google search interest in moving to Canada spiked. —Andrew Van Dam, Washington Post, 23 Dec. 2022 Fraudsters can use this to their benefit to hack into your devices and collect personal information like your passwords, auto-fill settings, search history, and more. —Ivana Pino, Fortune, 22 Dec. 2022 The search warrants came as the result of a four-month-long joint investigation in Norwalk and surrounding towns, police said. —Mike Mavredakis, Hartford Courant, 22 Dec. 2022 The data stored on phones, including search terms, purchases and text messages, could be used to prosecute people if the phone is gathered as part of a warrant. —Megha Satyanarayana, Scientific American, 22 Dec. 2022 Career coach Deborah Hope will lead a multi-part job search networking group for people 50 and over starting in January at the Milton Public Library. —Robert Knox, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Dec. 2022 Data from Google’s transparency report shows that since 2020 Google has removed 1.9 million of these manga sites’ URLs from search results due to copyright infringing content. —Craig Silverman, ProPublica, 21 Dec. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'search.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English cerchen, from Anglo-French cercher, sercher to travel about, investigate, search, from Late Latin circare to go about, from Latin circum round about — more at circum-

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of search was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century

Dictionary Entries Near

search

searcer

search and rescue team

See More Nearby Entries

Cite this Entry

Style

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“Search. ” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/search. Accessed 10 Jan. 2023.

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Kids Definition

1 of 2 verb

ˈsərch

: to go through or look carefully and thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something

search a room

search for a lost child

: to look in the pockets or the clothing of for something hidden

search an arrested person

: to find or come to know by or as if by careful investigation or examination

—usually used with out

: to use a computer to find information in (as a database, network, or website)

searcher noun

searchingly

ˈsər-chiŋ-lē

adverb

2 of 2 noun

: an act of searching : an attempt to get, find, or seek out

Legal Definition

1 of 2 noun

: an exploratory investigation (as of an area or person) by a government agent that intrudes on an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy and is conducted usually for the purpose of finding evidence of unlawful activity or guilt or to locate a person

warrantless searches are invalid unless they fall within narrowly drawn exceptions—State v. Mahone, 701 P.2d 171 (1985)

see also exigent circumstances, plain view sense 2, probable cause at cause sense 2, reasonable suspicion, search warrant at warrant

compare seizure

Note: The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and requires that a warrant may issue only upon probable cause and that the warrant must particularly describe the place to be searched. Some searches, such as a search incident to an arrest, have been held to be valid without a warrant.

— administrative search

: an inspection or search carried out under a regulatory or statutory scheme especially in public or commercial premises and usually to enforce compliance with regulations or laws pertaining to health, safety, or security one of the fundamental principles of administrative searches is that the government may not use an administrative inspection scheme as a pretext to search for evidence of criminal violations—People v. Madison, 520 N.E.2d 374 (1988)

called also administrative inspection, inspection, regulatory search

see also probable cause at cause sense 2

Note: The U.S. Supreme Court held in Camara v. Municipal Court, 387 U.S. 523 (1967), that a reasonable administrative search may be conducted upon a showing of probable cause which is less stringent than that required for a search incident to a criminal investigation. The Court stated that the reasonableness of the search can only be determined by “balancing the need to search against the invasion which the search entails.” Cases following Camara have stated that the probable cause requirement is fulfilled by showing that the search meets reasonable administrative standards established in a nonarbitrary regulatory scheme.

— border search

: a search made of a person upon crossing into the U. S. at a border or its equivalent (as the airport at which the person arrives in the U.S.)

Note: Probable cause is not required for a border search.

— consent search

: a warrantless search conducted upon the voluntarily given consent of a person having authority over the place or things to be searched

— inventory search

: a warrantless search (as of an impounded automobile) conducted for the purpose of placing personal property in safekeeping to prevent loss of the property and claims against police for such loss

— protective search

: a search (as a frisk) conducted by a law enforcement officer for the purpose of ensuring against threats to safety (as from a concealed weapon) or sometimes to prevent the destruction of evidence

— regulatory search

: administrative search in this entry

— shakedown search \ ˈshāk-ˌdau̇n- \

: a search for illicit or contraband material (as weapons or drugs) in prisoners' cells that is usually random and warrantless

Note: In Hudson v. Palmer, 468 U.S. 517 (1984), the U.S. Supreme Court held that Fourth Amendment protections do not extend to searches of prisoners' cells.

— strip search

: a search for something concealed on a person conducted after removal of the person's clothing

: an act of boarding and inspecting a ship on the high seas in exercise of the right to do so under international law (as in time of war)

: an examination of a public record or registry

More from Merriam-Webster on

search

Nglish: Translation of search for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of search for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: 15 Dec 2022 - Updated example sentences

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Merriam-Webster unabridged

Search Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.

com

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Synonyms
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More About Search
Examples
British
Idioms And Phrases

This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.

[ surch ]

/ sɜrtʃ /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: search / searched / searches / searching on Thesaurus.com

This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.

verb (used with object)

to go or look through (a place, area, etc.) carefully in order to find something missing or lost: They searched the woods for the missing child. I searched the desk for the letter.

to look at or examine (a person, object, etc. ) carefully in order to find something concealed: He searched the vase for signs of a crack. The police searched the suspect for weapons.

to explore or examine in order to discover: They searched the hills for gold.

to look at, read, or examine (a record, writing, collection, repository, etc.) for information: to search a property title; He searched the courthouse for a record of the deed to the land.

to look at or beneath the superficial aspects of to discover a motive, reaction, feeling, basic truth, etc.: He searched her face for a clue to her true feelings.

to look into, question, or scrutinize: She searched her conscience.

(of natural elements) to pierce or penetrate: The sunlight searched the room's dark corners.

to uncover or find by examination or exploration (often followed by out): to search out all the facts.

Military. to fire artillery over (an area) with successive changes in gun elevation.

Digital Technology. to electronically retrieve data, web pages, database records, or other information from (files, databases, etc. ) by typing relevant terms into a search engine or other search tool: Most of us have searched the internet for medical advice.

verb (used without object)

to inquire, investigate, examine, or seek; conduct an examination or investigation.

noun

the act of searching; careful examination or investigation: Her date with the guy she met online went badly, so her search for “Mr. Right” continues.
an instance of this: Did the search turn up any clues?

the practice, on the part of naval officers of a belligerent nation, of boarding and examining a suspected neutral vessel at sea in order to ascertain its true nationality and determine if it is carrying contraband: the right of visit and search.

Digital Technology. the act or process of electronically retrieving data, web pages, database records, or other information from files, databases, etc., as in Boolean search; keyword search:A search of the article turned up two references to my company.

OTHER WORDS FOR search

1 investigate.

2 inspect.

12 inspection, scrutiny.

See synonyms for search on Thesaurus.com

VIDEO FOR SEARCH

Did You Mean To Look Up "Search" On Dictionary.com?

It’s OK, we’ve all been here. Search is actually one of our most searched words! Stick around to find out why it's one of our favorite words!

Idioms about search

search me, I don't know: Why has it taken so long to reach a decision? Search me.

Origin of search

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb serchen, cerchen, from Anglo-French sercher or directly from Old French cerchier, from Late Latin circāre “to go around,” derivative of Latin circus “circle”; noun derivative of the verb

OTHER WORDS FROM search

search·a·ble, adjectivesearch·a·ble·ness, nounsearcher, nounoutsearch, verb (used with object)

pre·search, noun, verb (used with object)un·der·search, nounun·searched, adjectivewell-searched, adjective

Words nearby search

SEAQ, seaquake, sear, sea ranger, sea raven, search, search dog, search engine, search engine optimization, searching, searchless

Dictionary. com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

MORE ABOUT SEARCH

What is a basic definition of

search?

Search means to look to find something that is missing or whose location has been forgotten or is unknown. It also means to carefully examine a person or thing to find something that is hidden. A more modern meaning of search is to enter a query on a search engine or website in order to find a specific page or piece of information. Search is also used as a noun to refer to the process of looking for something. Search has many other senses as both a verb and a noun.

Most generally, search means to look for something. It usually implies something more thorough than just looking.

Real-life examples: People search for buried treasure, missing children, and things that they have lost, among many other things. Sometimes, people are said to search for abstract things, such as meaning or happiness.

Used in a sentence: We searched everywhere in the house for my sister’s missing toy.

Search also means to look closely at or examine a person or thing to find something that may be concealed or hidden.

Real-life examples: Police and security guards search people to check for weapons or illegal items they may be hiding on themselves or in something they own. Collectors or appraisers will often search an item for damage or signs that something may be fake.

Used in a sentence: The art expert searched the statue to find the sculptor’s trademark signature that proved it was genuine.

Search is also commonly used in the context of searching the internet, a website, or an individual webpage.

Real-life examples: When you use a search engine, you enter a search term in order to view the search results to find what you’re looking for. This process is called a search.

Used in a sentence: I searched for the exact phrase, but there were no results, so I tried another search using only keywords.

As a noun, search also commonly refers to the process of trying to find something. An investigation is a kind of search for the truth.

Real-life examples: Police often conduct searches to find missing people or suspects. People participate in or start searches focused on finding many different things, such as romantic partners, colleges, missing wallets, or answers to questions.

Used in a sentence: I haven’t made much progress in my search for the perfect birthday present for my girlfriend.

Where does

search come from?

The first records of the word search come from the early 1300s. It ultimately comes from the Late Latin verb circāre, meaning “to go around. ” The noun sense comes from the verb.

Search shares an origin with the words circle and circus. The Latin circāre comes from the Latin word circus, meaning “ring” or “circle.”

Did you know ... ?

How is

search used in real life?

Search is a common word that’s used in the context of looking for something.

Some people are lucky enough to find love early in their life, some are cursed to search for it forever.

— Handoko Tjung (@handokotjung) November 20, 2020

My search for a birthday dress has been a fail thus far 😩

— Sambalina (@JaydynsDynasty) November 22, 2020

Been looking for a song for 1,5 years. I didn't remember the title or any of the lyrics. All I had in my head is 1 second of the clip. I was searching through old songs so maybe it would show up in the suggested videos. Today it showed on the main page. Bless you YouTube gods!

— Grzegorz Komincz (@Liquid_MaNa) November 24, 2020

Try using

search!

Is search used correctly in the following sentence?

After a long search, the man finally found his wedding ring, which he had dropped in the sand.

Words related to search

examination, exploration, hunt, inquiry, inspection, investigation, pursuit, quest, research, check, comb, examine, explore, go through, inspect, investigate, look, probe, ransack, scan

How to use search in a sentence

You’re in search of sweets for your sweethearts more than ever and you’re ready to try something new.
How You’re Making Valentine’s Day Weekend Special At Home|Charli Penn|February 12, 2021|Essence.com
Best weighted blanket brands to knowThere are a few specifically great brands we think you should be familiar with when you start your weighted blanket search.
Best weighted blanket: Sleep like a baby with our comfy bedding picks|PopSci Commerce Team|February 12, 2021|Popular-Science
It plans on rolling it out globally at some point, which is expected to have a 7% impact in the search queries.
Google goes dark theme and passage ranking sees the light: Friday’s daily brief|Barry Schwartz|February 12, 2021|Search Engine Land
One of the great advantages of having search data mapped on a graph is that you can easily spot the highs and lows of how many times keywords were searched for.
A comprehensive guide on using Google Trends for keyword research|Aayush Gupta|February 12, 2021|Search Engine Watch

In 2019, The Fact Checker noticed the spread of misleading video posed a challenge not only to fact-checkers but also to anyone relying on social media or Web searches to get information or find the latest news.
Introducing #DIYFactCheck, a project from The Fact Checker|Nadine Ajaka, Elyse Samuels, Sarah Cahlan|February 11, 2021|Washington Post
In my search for answers about who I was, I pored over religious texts in search of enlightenment.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen|Parker Molloy|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
After a hit, they would adjust the search to the most likely route from there.
Exclusive: Inside a Cop-Killer’s Final Hours|Michael Daly|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The ATSB has been impressive in the way it has taken over the direction of the search for Flight 370.
Who Will Get AsiaAir 8501’s Black Boxes?|Clive Irving|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Search teams find dozens of people and jet debris floating in the Java Sea, as the airline confirms the wreckage is from QZ8501.
Wreckage, Bodies of AirAsia Crash Found|Lennox Samuels|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We separate the search for justice from the search for truth at our peril.
Bill de Blasio’s Tea Party Problem|Will Cain|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Felipe was so full of impatience to continue his search, that he hardly listened to the Father's words.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
He will search out the hidden meanings of proverbs, and will be conversant in the secrets of parables.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
But such refuge, he knew, could avail him nothing if the bear should scent him out and search for him.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
His search has always hitherto been fruitless, and he has sunk back, disheartened, into the sea.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Joe,” said Mr. Wardle, after an unsuccessful search in all his pockets, “is my snuff-box on the sofa?
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for search

/ (sɜːtʃ) /

verb

to look through (a place, records, etc) thoroughly in order to find someone or something

(tr) to examine (a person) for concealed objects by running one's hands over the clothing

to look at or examine (something) closelyto search one's conscience

(tr foll by out) to discover by investigation

surgery

to explore (a bodily cavity) during a surgical procedure
to probe (a wound)

(tr) military to fire all over (an area)

computing to review (a file) to locate specific information

archaic to penetrate

search me informal I don't know

noun

the act or an instance of searching

the examination of a vessel by the right of search

computing

a review of a file to locate specific information
(as modifier)a search routine

right of search international law the right possessed by the warships of a belligerent state in time of war to board and search merchant vessels to ascertain whether ship or cargo is liable to seizure

Derived forms of search

searchable, adjectivesearcher, noun

Word Origin for search

C14: from Old French cerchier, from Late Latin circāre to go around, from Latin circus circle

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with search

In addition to the idiom beginning with search

search me

also see:

high and low, search
in search of

Meaning of words - collection of dictionaries on Glosum.ru

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VLOOKUP Function - Microsoft Support

Tip: Try the new VLOOKUPX function, an improved version of the VLOOKUP function that works in either direction and returns exact matches by default, making it easier and more convenient to use than its predecessor. nine0011

Find data row by row in a table or range using the VLOOKUP function. For example, you can find the price of a car part by its part number, or you can find the name of an employee by their ID.

The simplest VLOOKUP function means the following:

=VLOOKUP(value to look up; location to look for; column number in return value range; return approximate or exact match - specified as 1/TRUE or 0/FALSE).

nine0010 Tip: The secret of VLOOKUP is organizing the data so that the value you look up (Fruit) appears to the left of the return value you want to find (Count).

Use the VLOOKUP function to look up a value in a table.

Syntax

VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table, column_number, [interval_lookup]) nine0011

Example:

=VLOOKUP(A2,A10:C20,2,TRUE)
=VLOOKUP("Ivanov",B2:E7,2,FALSE)
=VLOOKUP(A2;'Customer Details'!A:F;3;FALSE)

Argument name nine0011	Description
lookup_value (mandatory)	Value to search. The value you are looking for must be in the first column of the cell range specified in argument *table* . For example, if *table* spans the range of cells B2:D7, lookup_value must be in column B. *Lookup_value* can be a value or a cell reference.
nine0010 table (mandatory)	The range of cells that will be searched *for the lookup_value* and the return value using the VLOOKUP function. You can use a named range or table, as well as names in the argument, instead of cell references. The first column in a range of cells must contain *lookup_value* . The cell range must also contain the return value to be found. Learn how to select ranges on a worksheet.
column_number (mandatory)	Column number (starting at 1 for leftmost column *of table* ) containing the return value.
interval_lookup (optional)	Boolean value that determines whether the function VLOOKUP should find an approximate or exact match. nine0002 Option Approximate Match - 1/TRUE assumes that the first column in the table is sorted alphabetically or numerically, and then searches for the closest value. This is the default method unless otherwise specified. For example, =VLOOKUP(90,A1:B100,2,FALSE). Option Exact Match - 0/FALSE searches for the exact value in the first column. For example, =VLOOKUP("Ivanov",A1:B100,2,FALSE).

Getting Started

To build the syntax of the VLOOKUP function, you need the following information:

The value you want to find, i.e. the value you are looking for.
nine0004
The range in which the search value lies. Remember that for the VLOOKUP function to work correctly, the value you are looking for must always be in the first column of the range. For example, if the value you are looking for is in cell C2, the range should start with C.
The column number in the range containing the return value. For example, if you specify B2:D11 as your range, consider B as the first column, C as the second, and so on.
Optionally, you can specify the word TRUE if you want an approximate match, or the word FALSE if you want an exact match on the return value. If you don't specify anything, the default is always TRUE, which is an approximate match.

Now combine all of the above arguments like this:

nine0010 =VLOOKUP(lookup value; range with lookup value; column number in the range with return value; approximate match (TRUE) or exact match (FALSE)).

Examples

Here are some examples of using the VLOOKUP function.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Example 5

With the VLOOKUP function, you can merge several tables into one if one of the tables contains fields that are common to all the others. This can be especially handy if you need to share a workbook with users of older versions of Excel who don't support data features with multiple tables as data sources. By merging the sources into one table and changing the source of the data function to a new table, the data function can be used in older versions of Excel (as long as the data function is supported in the older version). nine0011

Here, columns A-F and H contain values or formulas that only use the values in this worksheet, while the remaining columns use the VLOOKUP function and the values of column A (customer code) and column B (attorney) to retrieve data from other tables.

Copy the table with common fields to a new sheet and give it a name. nine0011
Click Data > Data Tools > Relationships to open the Manage Relationships dialog box.
For each relationship in the list, note the following.
- A field that links tables (indicated in brackets in the dialog box). It's lookup_value for your VLOOKUP formula.
- The name of the associated lookup table. It is table in your VLOOKUP formula.
- A field (column) in the associated lookup table that contains the data you want in the new column. This information is not displayed in the Manage Relationships dialog box. To see which field to retrieve, look at the associated lookup table. Pay attention to the column number (A=1) - it's column_number in your formula.
To add a field to a new table, enter the VLOOKUP formula in the first empty column using the information collected in step 3.

In our example, column G uses lawyer ( lookup_value ) to get the rate data from the fourth column ( column_number = 4) from the sheet table "Attorneys", tblAttorneys ( table ), using the formula =VLOOKUP([@Attorney];tbl_Attorneys;4;FALSE) .

The formula can also use a cell reference and a range reference. In our example, this is =VLOOKUP(A2;'Lawyers'!A:D;4;FALSE ).
Continue adding fields until you have all the required fields. If you want to prepare a workbook that contains data functions that use multiple tables, change the data source for the data function to a new table. nine0011

nine0228

Issue	Possible cause
nine0010 Incorrect return value	If *interval_lookup* is TRUE or not specified, the first column must be sorted alphabetically or numerically. If the first column is not sorted, the return value may be unexpected. Sort the first column, or use FALSE for an exact match. nine0237
#N/A in cell	If *interval_lookup* is TRUE and the value of *lookup_value* is less than the smallest value in the first column *of table* , the #N/A error value will be returned. nine0011 If *interval_lookup* is FALSE, the #N/A error value means that the exact number could not be found. For more information about fixing #N/A errors in VLOOKUP, see Fixing #N/A errors in VLOOKUP.
#LINK! in cell	If the value of argument *column_number* is greater than the number of columns in table , the #REF! error value will be returned. Learn more about troubleshooting #LINK! in the VLOOKUP function, see Fixing the #REF! error.
#VALUE! in cell	If the value of argument *table* is less than 1, the #VALUE! error value will be returned. Learn more about troubleshooting #VALUE! in the VLOOKUP function, see Fix #VALUE! in the VLOOKUP function.
nine0010 #NAME? in cell	Error value #NAME? most often appears if quotation marks are missing in the formula. When searching for an employee's name, make sure that the name in the formula is enclosed in quotation marks. For example, in the function =VLOOKUP("Ivanov";B2:E7;2;FALSE) the name must be specified in the format "Ivanov" and nothing else. For more information, see Fix #NAME?. nine0237
Errors #MOVE! in cell	This particular #MOVE! usually means that the formula uses an implicit intersection for the lookup value and uses the entire column as a reference. For example, =VLOOKUP( A:A ;A:C;2;FALSE). You can fix this problem by anchoring the lookup link using the @ operator, for example: =VLOOKUP( @A:A ;A:C;2;FALSE). Alternatively, you can use the traditional VLOOKUP method and refer to a single cell instead of an entire column: =VLOOKUP( A2 ;A:C;2;FALSE).

Action

nine0010 Notes

Use absolute references in the argument range_lookup

Using absolute references allows you to fill in a formula so that it always displays the same range of exact lookups. nine0011

Learn how to use absolute cell references.

Do not save numeric or date values as text.

When searching for numeric or date values, ensure that the data in the first column of the argument table is not a text value. Otherwise, the VLOOKUP function may return an incorrect or unexpected value. nine0011

Sort the first column

If interval_lookup is TRUE, sort the first column of table before using the VLOOKUP function.

nine0010 Use wildcards

If the value of argument range_lookup is FALSE and argument lookup_value is text, then wildcard characters (?) and question marks (*) are allowed in argument lookup_value . The question mark matches any single character. An asterisk is any sequence of characters. If you want to search specifically for a question mark or an asterisk, type a tilde sign (~) in front of the character you are looking for. nine0011

For example, using the function =VLOOKUP("Ivano?";B2:E7;2;FALSE) will search for all occurrences of Ivanov with the last letter, which can change.

Check that the data does not contain erroneous characters.

When searching for text values in the first column, ensure that the data in the first column does not contain leading or trailing spaces, invalid quotes (' or ") or curly quotes (' or “), or non-printing characters. In these cases, the VLOOKUP function may return an unexpected value. nine0011

For accurate results, try using the CLEAN or TRIM functions.

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