What is the time complexity of the operation of searching for an element in a hash table in the worst and average cases?

In a hash table, the search operation typically has the following time complexities:

• Average case: O(1) — due to direct access via hash, search is performed in constant time assuming good hash function distribution and low load factor.

• Worst case: O(n) — occurs if all elements hash to the same bucket (collision), requiring sequential traversal of all elements in that bucket.

In practice, with good hash functions and resizing mechanisms, search time is almost always close to O(1).