seeker
/ˈsiːkə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈsiːkər/ (ame, ipa) · /-kə(r)/ (ame, mw)
seeker — noun
- seekersingular
- seekersplural
1. someone trying to find, obtain, or achieve a specific thing — such as a job, the
someone trying to find, obtain, or achieve a specific thing — such as a job, the truth, knowledge, attention, or a safe place to live.
After finishing college, Ezra became a job seeker and sent applications to dozens of companies.
common compound: job seeker
The old library was a meeting place for truth seekers examining rare documents.
common compound: truth seeker
Kasia is an attention seeker — she tells wild stories to keep everyone looking at her.
As a freedom seeker, Femi crossed two borders at night to escape the dictatorship.
The website offers hundreds of free courses for knowledge seekers all over the world.
- searcher
Less common in everyday use; seeker is preferred in established compound nouns.
- hunter
Stronger, more active connotation; often implies persistence or aggression (e.g. bargain hunter, treasure hunter).
- pursuer
More intense and often negative; suggests chasing something that may be unwanted (e.g. pursuer of fame).
文法句型
[something]-seeker
seeker of [something]
用法筆記
Very commonly appears as the second part of a compound noun (job-seeker, attention-seeker, truth-seeker, asylum-seeker). The first part of the compound tells you what the person is looking for. Using seeker alone without a modifier is rare in everyday speech.
常見錯誤
2. a device inside a missile that picks up and follows a target by detecting signal
a device inside a missile that picks up and follows a target by detecting signals — for instance, heat from an engine, light reflected off an object, or radar echoes.
The missile's heat seeker locked onto the engine exhaust of the military jet.
heat seeker — infrared homing
By tracking heat from the plane's engine, the seeker guided the missile to the target.
The experimental seeker could switch between radar and infrared tracking during a single flight.
Engineers designed a new seeker that follows radio signals even in heavy rain or fog.
- homing device
More general term; refers to any system that guides toward a target, not necessarily inside a missile.
- guidance system
Broader than seeker; includes the seeker as one component along with navigation and control systems.
文法句型
heat seeker / radar seeker / infrared seeker
[type] seeker
用法筆記
A technical term used in military and aerospace engineering. Common types include heat seeker (infrared), radar seeker, and laser seeker. Do not use this sense in general contexts about finding things — only for missile guidance.