{
  "altLabels": [
    "Tip-of-the-Tongue Retrieval",
    "Tip-of-the-Tongue Known-Item Retrieval",
    "ToT Search",
    "ToT Retrieval",
    "ToT-KIR"
  ],
  "definition": "A known-item search task in which the searcher is trying to re-find or identify a previously encountered item but cannot recall a precise name, title, identifier, or other direct lookup key.",
  "distinctions": [
    {
      "reason": "Tip-of-the-tongue search seeks a specific previously encountered item; ad hoc retrieval usually seeks topically relevant material for a new information need.",
      "statement": "Tip-of-the-Tongue Search is not Ad Hoc Retrieval.",
      "target": "ad-hoc-retrieval",
      "targetLabel": "Ad Hoc Retrieval",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/ad-hoc-retrieval/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Exact match depends on precise terms, values, or phrases; tip-of-the-tongue search is needed when the user lacks the exact identifier.",
      "statement": "Tip-of-the-Tongue Search is not Exact Match.",
      "target": "exact-match",
      "targetLabel": "Exact Match",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/exact-match/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Tip-of-the-tongue search is a specialized form of known-item search where the searcher cannot reliably recall the item identifier.",
      "statement": "Tip-of-the-Tongue Search is not Known-Item Search.",
      "target": "known-item-search",
      "targetLabel": "Known-Item Search",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/known-item-search/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Tip-of-the-tongue search identifies an item from partial clues; question answering returns an answer or answer-bearing response.",
      "statement": "Tip-of-the-Tongue Search is not Question Answering.",
      "target": "question-answering",
      "targetLabel": "Question Answering",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/question-answering/"
    }
  ],
  "id": "tip-of-the-tongue-search",
  "kind": "Task",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
  "links": [
    {
      "label": "TREC Tip-of-the-Tongue Track",
      "type": "officialHomepage",
      "url": "https://trec-tot.github.io/"
    },
    {
      "label": "Tip of the Tongue Known-Item Retrieval",
      "type": "definingReference",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2101.07124"
    },
    {
      "label": "Overview of the TREC 2025 Tip-of-the-Tongue Track",
      "type": "definingReference",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.20671"
    }
  ],
  "modifiedAt": "2026-09-14T06:43:46Z",
  "prefLabel": "Tip-of-the-Tongue Search",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "Searchplex",
    "url": "https://searchplex.net/"
  },
  "relations": [
    {
      "target": "known-item-search",
      "type": "broader"
    },
    {
      "note": "Tip-of-the-tongue search seeks a specific previously encountered item; ad hoc retrieval usually seeks topically relevant material for a new information need.",
      "target": "ad-hoc-retrieval",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Exact match depends on precise terms, values, or phrases; tip-of-the-tongue search is needed when the user lacks the exact identifier.",
      "target": "exact-match",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Tip-of-the-tongue search is a specialized form of known-item search where the searcher cannot reliably recall the item identifier.",
      "target": "known-item-search",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Tip-of-the-tongue search identifies an item from partial clues; question answering returns an answer or answer-bearing response.",
      "target": "question-answering",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "target": "interactive-search",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "multimodal-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "query-reformulation",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "query-understanding",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "question-answering",
      "type": "related"
    }
  ],
  "representations": {
    "html": "https://id.searchplex.net/tip-of-the-tongue-search/",
    "json": "https://id.searchplex.net/tip-of-the-tongue-search.json",
    "jsonld": "https://id.searchplex.net/tip-of-the-tongue-search.jsonld"
  },
  "scheme": "https://id.searchplex.net/scheme/",
  "scopeNote": "Tip-of-the-tongue search queries often contain partial memories, contextual clues, uncertain descriptions, comparisons, or remembered attributes rather than exact identifiers. It is a specialized form of known-item search and is distinct from exact match search and ordinary ad hoc topical retrieval.",
  "status": "published",
  "terms": [
    {
      "community": "industry",
      "label": "Forgotten Item Search",
      "usage": "informal"
    },
    {
      "community": "general",
      "label": "Find the Thing I Can't Name",
      "usage": "informal"
    }
  ],
  "uri": "https://id.searchplex.net/tip-of-the-tongue-search/"
}