Rummage — Defs

01 n. A place or room for the stowage of cargo in a ship; also, the act of stowing cargo; the pulling and moving about of packages incident to cl…

1.
A place or room for the stowage of cargo in a ship; also, the act of stowing cargo; the pulling and moving about of packages incident to close stowage; -- formerly written romage.(Naut.) [Obs.]
2.
A searching carefully by looking into every corner, and by turning things over.
“He has made such a general rummage and reform in the office of matrimony.” — Walpole.

Phrases & compounds

Rummage sale — a clearance sale of unclaimed goods in a public store, or of odds and ends which have accumulated in a shop.

02 v. t. To make room in, as a ship, for the cargo; to move about, as packages, ballast, so as to permit close stowage; to stow closely; to pack; --…

imp. & p. p. Rummaged; p. pr. & vb. n. Rummaging

1.
To make room in, as a ship, for the cargo; to move about, as packages, ballast, so as to permit close stowage; to stow closely; to pack; -- formerly written roomage, and romage.(Naut.) [Obs.] Also: roomage, romage
“They might bring away a great deal more than they do, if they would take pain in the romaging.” — Hakluyt.
2.
To search or examine thoroughly by looking into every corner, and turning over or removing goods or other things; to examine, as a book, carefully, turning over leaf after leaf.
“He . . . searcheth his pockets, and taketh his keys, and so rummageth all his closets and trunks.” — Howell.

“What schoolboy of us has not rummaged his Greek dictionary in vain for a satisfactory account!” — M. Arnold.

03 v. i. To search a place narrowly.

1.
To search a place narrowly.
“I have often rummaged for old books in Little Britain and Duck Lane.” — Swift.

“[His house] was haunted with a jolly ghost, that . . . . . . rummaged like a rat.” — Tennyson.