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What makes searching not like seeking? What makes seeking not like searching?

How do we decide when to use one over the other?

Eric J. Price
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    If you search a crime scene for evidence you're not necessarily seeking any particular thing. Note that the two verbs take different objects -- "search" takes the area being examined and "seek" takes the item being sought. – Hot Licks Jun 15 '17 at 00:42
  • What @HotLicks said, A search radar is not seeking a particular threat but rather shows whatever is out there. – MikeJRamsey56 Jun 15 '17 at 00:56

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The designation of seek/search is dependent on the imperative of verb. To seek something implies a definite end result. It is essentially a request. To search implies an ambiguous end result. It is more passive, and observational. One can search for evidence in a crime scene, but to seek evidence would be improper and imply prior knowledge of the sought evidence (and the nature therein).

freakshowbiz
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