Definition

Noun: A group of people organized to look for a missing person or thing. A search party is typically formed when someone is lost or in danger, and its members systematically cover an area to find them.

Usage

The term "search party" is used to describe the organized group itself. It is often preceded by verbs like "organize," "send out," "join," or "form." It is a countable noun.

Examples

• The police organized a search party to look for the lost hikers.
• Volunteers formed a search party to comb the woods for the missing child.
• They joined the search party at dawn.
• After the boat failed to return, a search party was sent out along the coast.

Advanced Usage

• "To mount a search party": This is a formal or journalistic way to say "to organize and send out a search party."
  • Authorities mounted a large search party after the avalanche.
• The term implies a coordinated effort, distinguishing it from a disorganized or individual search.

Variants and Related Words

• Search and rescue (SAR) team/party: A more specialized term for a group trained to find and aid people in distress, often in wilderness or disaster settings.
• Search: (Noun/Verb) The act of looking for something or someone.
• Rescue party: A group focused primarily on saving or extracting someone who has been found, though its mission may overlap with a search party.

Synonyms

• Search team
• Searching group
• Rescue team (when the mission includes both finding and saving)

Related Phrases

• To scour the area: This phrase is often used to describe the action of a search party.
  • The search party scoured the area for any clues.
• To fan out: Describes how members of a search party might spread out to cover more ground.
  • The search party fanned out across the field.

Noun

1. a party of people to search for someone