spotlight

Sounds like the Spotlight index has not corrupted.

How to rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support

to check if Spotlight is re indexing enter a word in the search field of Spotlight and

if it is re indexing you should see a progress bar.

It is perfectly possible to type into that Spotlight banner and find absolutely nothing. Part of that reason may lead back to what Search Result categories are selected in Spotlight Preferences, and potentially to not understanding how to use Spotlight queries to your advantage by narrowing your search results on Mac.

I almost never (twice in a year) remove/re-index my Spotlight database, and normally, I can find things via the Spotlight panel, or the search field in an ordinary Finder window.