This might be the wrong place – if so, I can delete.
I'm looking for correct language guidance regarding a line on a lead generation web application where we allow a user to search for more information on the selected lead (a person) using various websites (Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.), and using the site's icons as a clickable button.
Currently, it reads "Search for them on: (google)(Facebook)"
I have a request to change it to "Search them on: (google)(Facebook)"
I believe that the original label is correct and that the requested change doesn't actually have the same meaning, but I'm getting some pushback on my assertion.
Am I correct in my statement that "Search for them on Google" is the appropriate sentence, and that "Search them on Google" has a wholly different meaning?
Best Answer
"Search," by itself, is a transitive verb. "Search them," without context, means "investigate them closely." "Search for" is the most common construction to indicate a search term.
Tinfoil Hat gives some examples of "search [query]," in which "search" is used transitively, so this usage is common enough that your point would be understood. However, even this colloquial construction breaks down when you add the prepositional phrase indicating the search platform, "search them on Google."
All of the following would be idiomatically appropriate:
... and, of course, in the most prominent example of "verbing nouns"... "Google them."