Definition:

A search engine that shows the outcomes of multiple search engines.

Information:

Metasearch or meta-search are two variants of the spelling.

Mostly, search results contain outputs from a variety of sources; however, all of them are not metasearch engines. The secondary and primary listing might be included in non-metasearch engines.  To improve the search arena, secondary listings provide a substitute, or they work as a paid (premium) service to maximize the revenue of the search engine. Such secondary listing might not be easily distinguishable from the primary results.

A viewer is normally informed about the fact that a number of sources are included in the search outcome at a metasearch platform. Usually, no source is subordinate to another; however, there are many methods to show the outcomes. Listings might be categorized according to the source (for instance, Dogpile); they may be a merger of different sources (such as Mamma); or they may be ranked and bunched together (for example, Ixquick).

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