What does seeking mean?
Seeking describes the deliberate activity of looking for, trying to obtain, or pursuing something. It often suggests more than a casual search: “seeking employment” can mean actively applying and preparing for work, while “seeking asylum” implies a serious search for legal protection. The word is also used before nouns and abstract qualities, as in “seeking attention,” “seeking meaning,” or “seeking a sustainable solution.” Its present-participle form gives it an ongoing or purposeful character, and its use as a gerund allows it to appear as the subject of a sentence, though this construction can sound formal or abstract. Seeking is common in professional, legal, political, and personal contexts and can occasionally suggest determination or repeated effort. Related forms include the third-person singular seek, the past tense sought, and the noun seeker, which denotes a person who searches or strives for something.
To try to find or obtain someone or something; to pursue a goal or outcome.
"The fund is seeking support for projects that preserve endangered habitats."
As the present participle of seek, seeking may describe an ongoing activity, a gerund construction, or an adjectival relationship to the following noun.
The act or process of searching for or pursuing something.
"The seeking of a practical solution became the committee's chief concern."
This noun use is less common in everyday speech and often has a formal or abstract tone.
Seeking captures more than a simple search: it often implies effort, purpose, and the possibility of pursuit.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does seeking come from?
Seeking is the present participle and gerund of seek. Seek derives from Old English sēcan, a Germanic verb meaning “to look for, search for, or inquire,” related to German suchen and Dutch zoeken. These forms continue a Germanic word inherited from an ancient Indo-European root concerned with seeking or tracking down.
Related word forms
How seeking is actually used
Seeking is the present participle and gerund of seek. In constructions such as “seeking help” or “seeking attention,” it has a adjectival function; with “to,” it often describes a deliberate goal rather than a literal search.
Easily confused with seeking
Seeking means searching for or pursuing something, whereas sieving means separating materials by passing them through a sieve.