(~s, ~ing, sought)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
If you ~ something such as a job or a place to live, you try to find one. (FORMAL)
They have had to ~ work as labourers...
Four people who sought refuge in the Italian embassy have left voluntarily...
Candidates are urgently sought for the post of Conservative party chairman.
VERB: V n, V n, be V-ed for n
2.
When someone ~s something, they try to obtain it. (FORMAL)
The prosecutors have warned they will ~ the death penalty...
Haemophiliacs are ~ing compensation for being given contaminated blood.
VERB: V n, V n
3.
If you ~ someone’s help or advice, you contact them in order to ask for it. (FORMAL)
Always ~ professional legal advice before entering into any agreement...
The couple have sought help from marriage guidance counsellors.
VERB: V n, V n from n
4.
If you ~ to do something, you try to do it. (FORMAL)
He also denied that he would ~ to annex the country...
VERB: V to-inf