sought

Related to sought: sought out

seek (one's) fortune

To attempt to make a living or become rich by leaving one's home or original location. She worked as an assistant in the firm for several years before she finally left to seek her fortune as an independent contractor. I felt trapped in such a small town, where opportunities were very scarce for young people, so as soon as I turned 18, I packed up my belongings and moved to New York City to seek my fortune.
See also: fortune, seek

seek (something) from (someone or something)

To endeavor to obtain something from some person, group, organization, office, etc., especially in a formal or official capacity. Often used in passive constructions. I sought assurances from the team that the project would be completed on schedule. You'll have to seek approval from the board of directors.
See also: seek

seek a knot in a bulrush

To engage in a futile task; to try to find problems where none exist. A bulrush is a grassy plant that is not prone to knots. You'd have better luck seeking a knot in a bulrush than getting those flowers to grow on such rocky soil. I read the report so many times that the boss will be seeking a knot in a bulrush to try to find errors in it.
See also: knot, seek

seek after

To endeavor to locate or obtain someone or something. Often used in passive constructions. The political party has sought after control of parliament for years. We've been seeking after a new HR manager, but none of the candidates have been a good fit so far. The new toy is expected to be heavily sought after this holiday season.
See also: after, seek

seek out

To hunt, seek, or try to discover someone or something. A noun or pronoun can be used between "seek" and "out." We've been seeking out locations to shoot our new film. I have to seek Sarah out to get the administrator password to the computer.
See also: out, seek

seek professional help

To request, pursue, or endeavor to obtain treatment or counseling from a psychologist or psychiatrist. At the intervention, we all urged her to seek professional help to deal with her addiction. There's no shame in seeking professional help if you think you're suffering from depression, Mike.
See also: help, professional, seek

seek revenge (against/on someone or something)

To attempt or intend to retaliate (against someone else) for a wrong done to oneself. Tiffany is always gossiping about me, so I sought revenge on her by starting a nasty rumor about her relationship with one of our teachers. I see the growth of this extremist movement as largely being citizens seeking revenge against the established government, which they feel has betrayed or abandoned them. Seeking revenge will never give you a sense of peace or closure—you'll remain just as angry as before, and it will bring suffering to someone else along with you.
See also: on, revenge, seek, someone

sought after

In demand; very popular with or desired by a lot of people. To the surprise of some, the product has been greatly sought after since it was first released. Retailers have struggled to maintain stock of the sought after toy. Now that the property market has begun to boom, construction workers are much sought after once again.
See also: after, sought
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

*much sought after

Cliché wanted or desired very much. (*Typically: be ~; become ~.) This kind of crystal is much sought after. It's very rare. Sally is a great singer. She's much sought after.
See also: after, much, sought

seek after someone or something

to keep looking for someone or something. I will continue to seek after the thief who stole my car. The thief was seeking after a late-model sedan.
See also: after, seek

seek professional help

Euph. to get psychiatric or psychological treatment. If you are seriously thinking of suicide, now is the time to seek professional help. His friends suggested that he seek professional help.
See also: help, professional, seek

seek someone or something out

to search for and find someone or something. We will seek someone out to do the work for us. Liz sought out a helper for Karen.
See also: out, seek
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

sought after

Also, much sought after. Very popular, in demand, as in He was much sought after as a throat specialist, particularly by singers. This expression uses the past participle of seek in the sense of "desired" or "searched for." [Late 1800s]
See also: after, sought
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

seek out

v.
To try to locate or discover someone or something: The fish sought out sheltered pools to lay their eggs. The teacher will only give help to those who seek it out.
See also: out, seek
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • a change of heart
  • appear to
  • (one's) game
  • a mystery to (one)
  • a turn of phrase
  • able to do
  • able to do it
  • a shoulder to cry on
  • a piece of the action
  • a piece/slice of the action
References in periodicals archive
Sources said that a very senior officer in the Rashtriya Rifles has also sought disability pension benefits for a minor disease and will receive the pension soon.
More than 2,000 Army officers took disability pension in last two years
The bench further asked the secretary whether any disciplinary action had been taken against those military officers who got married without permission and sought data in this regard.
SC seeks report on foreign employment of former army chief, DG ISI
69% of the families belonged to the low socioeconomic class and 53.62% of them sought health care from private clinic while 5.79% went directly to the pharmacy.
Study of health-care seeking behavior of parents for child health problems in an urban slum area of Solapur
Over Rs 1.65 billion was sought for expenditure on head of administration of justice and another sum of over Rs 230 million was
Balochistan Assembly passes Rs 287 bln budget for 2016-17
Picture two is that of a man who is sought to assist with an investigation at Spar in Red Hall Precinct, Connah's Quay, on October 2.
CAUGHT ON CAMERA; Can you help police trace people after spate of crimes
The characteristics of a critical care nurse impact how information needs are identified and sought for patient care.
Critical care nurses' information-seeking behaviour during an unfamiliar patient care task
First, in contrast to feedback that is passively received, for example at the discretion of a manager, feedback-seeking behavior refers to feedback that is proactively sought. Second, in contrast to formal feedback, such as that received during a performance appraisal, feedback-seeking behavior refers to informal, i.e., day-to-day, feedback.
Taking feedback-seeking to the next "level": organizational structure and feedback-seeking behavior
Papers sought for a special issue of Politics & Gender on the gendered politics of the 2008 presidential primary and general elections.
Call for submission
Among the seven treatments, treatment on one's own was the most commonly sought, desired, and planned.
Psychosocial barriers hinder quest for weight-loss therapy
First, it needs to be clarified that the information management sought by pro-life parents is motivated today primarily by an institutional libertinism that teaches children how to 'safely' engage in sexual acts; encourages acceptance of homosexual acts as having parity with male-female relations; and lists pregnancy among sexually transmitted diseases.
From Sean Thompson
This militant stance was stymied by a male political culture that debased female reform and sought to prevent black "dependence" on the federal government.
Women's Radical Reconstruction: The Freedmen's Aid Movement
Although the courts and postwar popular culture sought to keep interracial intimacy in the private sphere and to contain the political transformations it could engender, the black press and at least some black civil rights activists celebrated examples of black-white romances and marriages and embraced interracial intimacy as a civil rights issue.
Romance and Rights: The Politics of Interracial Intimacy, 1945-1954
(1) The study revealed that female Medicaid enrollees aged 10-15 who sought pregnancy care, abortions or contraceptives had more than double the odds of other Medicaid enrollees in the same age-group of being victims of sexual abuse by a caregiver during the five-year study period.
Young female Medicaid enrollees seeking reproductive health services are at risk of abuse, criminal activity
First, these settlements have established a precedent and could lead to expectations in future cases that similar contributions will be sought and made.
Getting personal: recent high-profile corporate scandals sprouted a new trend--attorneys targeting directors' assets