verb · B2

Sought

SORT/sɔːt/

Sought is the past of seek: looked for or tried to obtain; sought-after means in demand: sought legal advice; a sought-after course. Looked for is everyday. The trust sought legal advice. Mix-up: sort is to arrange (already in the dictionary); sought is not “thought”. Do not write seeked.

Meaning

Past tense of seek: looked for or tried to obtain; sought-after means in demand.

Examples

“The trust sought legal advice before the exclusion hearing, minutes show.”
“A sought-after language option closed at 20, which is the in-demand sense.”

Good to know

sought + noun; sought-after. Present: seek (already in the dictionary). Trap: sort / seeked. Minutes, news, and UCAS. Past of seek, not “arranged”.

New