cast about

verb

To try to find; look around; search.

“The hounds cast about for the fox's trail.”

Similar
beat aboutcast around
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Meanings

verbcast about (third-person singular simple present casts about, present participle casting about, simple past and past participle cast about)

present singular third person casts about · participle present casting about

  1. intransitiveTo try to find; look around; search.

    The hounds cast about for the fox's trail.

  2. transitiveTo plan; plot; contrive.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbsearch anxiously

Similar
beat aboutcast around
Broader
researchsearchexplore
Also see
beat aboutcast aroundcontrive

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From cast (“to try”) + about, perhaps dissimulated from becast (“to cast about, plot”). Compare also Old English costian (“to try, examine”). More at cast, costen.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

cast about. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cast%20about

MLA

“cast about.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cast%20about. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cast about,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cast%20about.

Source: cast about on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.