Mark selection for replace

How does one mark a selection for search / replace in VIM?

In Kate (KDE editor) one can select an arbitrary block of text ands
perform a search / replace option only in that block. So, for instance
if I have two functions which both use the local variable "input" then
I could easily mark || highlight || select one of them, then search
and replace the text only in that section.

By the way, while googling this I see alternating use between the
words "find" and "search". Are the two words synonyms in this context,
or are amateur journalists (bloggers) getting them confused (not
restricted to the VIM community)?

Thanks!

--
Dotan Cohen

http://gibberish.co.il
http://what-is-what.com

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