Phrase guide

human-flesh search

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Research at an Internet forum where questions may be posed for other people to answer.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • 3 March 2010, The New York Times, China's Cyberposse Mop had a forum called human-flesh search engine, where users could pose questions about entertainment trivia that other users would answer: a type of crowd-sourcing.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Vigilante justice where Internet users collaborate to find people and punish them by public exposure, harassment, or intimidation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • 3 March 2010, The New York Times, China's Cyberposse Human-flesh search engines — renrou sousuo yinqing — have become a Chinese phenomenon: they are a form of online vigilante justice in which Internet users hunt down and punish people who have attracted their wrath.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Possibly a back-formation from human flesh search engine.