probe for

probe for

1. To inquire of or interrogate someone for some information. The detective has been probing the suspect for info about the criminal organization. I wish you wouldn't probe me for details after every date I go on!

2. To search some place or thing for something, especially when one does not have a clear idea of where to look. Let me probe the cupboard for something to eat. We'll need to probe our emails for the document you're looking for.

See also: for, probe

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

probe something for something

to poke around in something for something. He probed his memory for some clue as to where he had been on that date. Sam probed the darkened space for the tool that he had mislaid.

See also: for, probe

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.