diff --git a/src/wp-admin/includes/ajax-actions.php b/src/wp-admin/includes/ajax-actions.php
index 1df84f204e..259e14d5db 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/includes/ajax-actions.php
+++ b/src/wp-admin/includes/ajax-actions.php
@@ -4829,7 +4829,7 @@ function wp_ajax_search_plugins() {
 		network_admin_url( 'plugins.php', 'relative' )
 	);
 
-	$GLOBALS['s'] = wp_unslash( $_POST['s'] );
+	$GLOBALS['search_term'] = wp_unslash( $_POST['s'] );
 
 	$wp_list_table->prepare_items();
 
diff --git a/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-links-list-table.php b/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-links-list-table.php
index b038f79a76..d60f4dddef 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-links-list-table.php
+++ b/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-links-list-table.php
@@ -48,12 +48,12 @@ class WP_Links_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 	 * @global string $order
 	 */
 	public function prepare_items() {
-		global $cat_id, $s, $orderby, $order;
+		global $cat_id, $search_term, $orderby, $order;
 
-		$cat_id  = ! empty( $_REQUEST['cat_id'] ) ? absint( $_REQUEST['cat_id'] ) : 0;
-		$orderby = ! empty( $_REQUEST['orderby'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $_REQUEST['orderby'] ) : '';
-		$order   = ! empty( $_REQUEST['order'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $_REQUEST['order'] ) : '';
-		$s       = ! empty( $_REQUEST['s'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $_REQUEST['s'] ) : '';
+		$cat_id      = ! empty( $_REQUEST['cat_id'] ) ? absint( $_REQUEST['cat_id'] ) : 0;
+		$orderby     = ! empty( $_REQUEST['orderby'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $_REQUEST['orderby'] ) : '';
+		$order       = ! empty( $_REQUEST['order'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $_REQUEST['order'] ) : '';
+		$search_term = ! empty( $_REQUEST['s'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $_REQUEST['s'] ) : '';
 
 		$args = array(
 			'hide_invisible' => 0,
@@ -63,8 +63,8 @@ class WP_Links_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 		if ( 'all' !== $cat_id ) {
 			$args['category'] = $cat_id;
 		}
-		if ( ! empty( $s ) ) {
-			$args['search'] = $s;
+		if ( ! empty( $search_term ) ) {
+			$args['search'] = $search_term;
 		}
 		if ( ! empty( $orderby ) ) {
 			$args['orderby'] = $orderby;
diff --git a/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-ms-sites-list-table.php b/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-ms-sites-list-table.php
index 6097f5e13e..48962e2ee3 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-ms-sites-list-table.php
+++ b/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-ms-sites-list-table.php
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ class WP_MS_Sites_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 	 * @global wpdb   $wpdb WordPress database abstraction object.
 	 */
 	public function prepare_items() {
-		global $mode, $s, $wpdb;
+		global $mode, $search_term, $wpdb;
 
 		if ( ! empty( $_REQUEST['mode'] ) ) {
 			$mode = 'excerpt' === $_REQUEST['mode'] ? 'excerpt' : 'list';
@@ -79,18 +79,18 @@ class WP_MS_Sites_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 
 		$pagenum = $this->get_pagenum();
 
-		$s    = isset( $_REQUEST['s'] ) ? wp_unslash( trim( $_REQUEST['s'] ) ) : '';
-		$wild = '';
-		if ( str_contains( $s, '*' ) ) {
-			$wild = '*';
-			$s    = trim( $s, '*' );
+		$search_term = isset( $_REQUEST['s'] ) ? wp_unslash( trim( $_REQUEST['s'] ) ) : '';
+		$wild        = '';
+		if ( str_contains( $search_term, '*' ) ) {
+			$wild        = '*';
+			$search_term = trim( $search_term, '*' );
 		}
 
 		/*
 		 * If the network is large and a search is not being performed, show only
 		 * the latest sites with no paging in order to avoid expensive count queries.
 		 */
-		if ( ! $s && wp_is_large_network() ) {
+		if ( ! $search_term && wp_is_large_network() ) {
 			if ( ! isset( $_REQUEST['orderby'] ) ) {
 				$_GET['orderby']     = '';
 				$_REQUEST['orderby'] = '';
@@ -107,28 +107,28 @@ class WP_MS_Sites_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 			'network_id' => get_current_network_id(),
 		);
 
-		if ( empty( $s ) ) {
+		if ( empty( $search_term ) ) {
 			// Nothing to do.
-		} elseif ( preg_match( '/^[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}$/', $s )
-			|| preg_match( '/^[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.?$/', $s )
-			|| preg_match( '/^[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.?$/', $s )
-			|| preg_match( '/^[0-9]{1,3}\.$/', $s )
+		} elseif ( preg_match( '/^[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}$/', $search_term )
+			|| preg_match( '/^[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.?$/', $search_term )
+			|| preg_match( '/^[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.?$/', $search_term )
+			|| preg_match( '/^[0-9]{1,3}\.$/', $search_term )
 		) {
 			// IPv4 address.
 			$reg_blog_ids = $wpdb->get_col(
 				$wpdb->prepare(
 					"SELECT blog_id FROM {$wpdb->registration_log} WHERE {$wpdb->registration_log}.IP LIKE %s",
-					$wpdb->esc_like( $s ) . ( ! empty( $wild ) ? '%' : '' )
+					$wpdb->esc_like( $search_term ) . ( ! empty( $wild ) ? '%' : '' )
 				)
 			);
 
 			if ( $reg_blog_ids ) {
 				$args['site__in'] = $reg_blog_ids;
 			}
-		} elseif ( is_numeric( $s ) && empty( $wild ) ) {
-			$args['ID'] = $s;
+		} elseif ( is_numeric( $search_term ) && empty( $wild ) ) {
+			$args['ID'] = $search_term;
 		} else {
-			$args['search'] = $s;
+			$args['search'] = $search_term;
 
 			if ( ! is_subdomain_install() ) {
 				$args['search_columns'] = array( 'path' );
diff --git a/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-ms-themes-list-table.php b/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-ms-themes-list-table.php
index 70187f44d4..a3fb02e960 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-ms-themes-list-table.php
+++ b/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-ms-themes-list-table.php
@@ -97,11 +97,11 @@ class WP_MS_Themes_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 	 * @global string $s
 	 */
 	public function prepare_items() {
-		global $status, $totals, $page, $orderby, $order, $s;
+		global $status, $totals, $page, $orderby, $order, $search_term;
 
-		$orderby = ! empty( $_REQUEST['orderby'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $_REQUEST['orderby'] ) : '';
-		$order   = ! empty( $_REQUEST['order'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $_REQUEST['order'] ) : '';
-		$s       = ! empty( $_REQUEST['s'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $_REQUEST['s'] ) : '';
+		$orderby     = ! empty( $_REQUEST['orderby'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $_REQUEST['orderby'] ) : '';
+		$order       = ! empty( $_REQUEST['order'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $_REQUEST['order'] ) : '';
+		$search_term = ! empty( $_REQUEST['s'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $_REQUEST['s'] ) : '';
 
 		$themes = array(
 			/**
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ class WP_MS_Themes_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 			}
 		}
 
-		if ( $s ) {
+		if ( $search_term ) {
 			$status           = 'search';
 			$themes['search'] = array_filter( array_merge( $themes['all'], $themes['broken'] ), array( $this, '_search_callback' ) );
 		}
@@ -545,7 +545,7 @@ class WP_MS_Themes_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 	 * @param WP_Theme $theme The current WP_Theme object.
 	 */
 	public function column_name( $theme ) {
-		global $status, $page, $s;
+		global $status, $page, $search_term;
 
 		$context = $status;
 
@@ -574,7 +574,7 @@ class WP_MS_Themes_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 						'action' => 'enable',
 						'theme'  => $theme_key,
 						'paged'  => $page,
-						's'      => $s,
+						's'      => $search_term,
 					),
 					$url
 				);
@@ -600,7 +600,7 @@ class WP_MS_Themes_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 					'action' => 'disable',
 					'theme'  => $theme_key,
 					'paged'  => $page,
-					's'      => $s,
+					's'      => $search_term,
 				),
 				$url
 			);
@@ -632,7 +632,7 @@ class WP_MS_Themes_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 					'checked[]'    => $theme_key,
 					'theme_status' => $context,
 					'paged'        => $page,
-					's'            => $s,
+					's'            => $search_term,
 				),
 				'themes.php'
 			);
diff --git a/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-plugins-list-table.php b/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-plugins-list-table.php
index 897e46cda2..f4286af2e8 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-plugins-list-table.php
+++ b/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-plugins-list-table.php
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ class WP_Plugins_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 	 * @global string $s
 	 */
 	public function prepare_items() {
-		global $status, $plugins, $totals, $page, $orderby, $order, $s;
+		global $status, $plugins, $totals, $page, $orderby, $order, $search_term;
 
 		$orderby = ! empty( $_REQUEST['orderby'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $_REQUEST['orderby'] ) : '';
 		$order   = ! empty( $_REQUEST['order'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $_REQUEST['order'] ) : '';
@@ -294,7 +294,7 @@ class WP_Plugins_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 			}
 		}
 
-		if ( strlen( $s ) ) {
+		if ( strlen( $search_term ) ) {
 			$status            = 'search';
 			$plugins['search'] = array_filter( $plugins['all'], array( $this, '_search_callback' ) );
 		}
@@ -372,10 +372,10 @@ class WP_Plugins_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 	 * @return bool
 	 */
 	public function _search_callback( $plugin ) {
-		global $s;
+		global $search_term;
 
 		foreach ( $plugin as $value ) {
-			if ( is_string( $value ) && false !== stripos( strip_tags( $value ), urldecode( $s ) ) ) {
+			if ( is_string( $value ) && false !== stripos( strip_tags( $value ), urldecode( $search_term ) ) ) {
 				return true;
 			}
 		}
@@ -721,7 +721,7 @@ class WP_Plugins_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 	 * @param array $item
 	 */
 	public function single_row( $item ) {
-		global $status, $page, $s, $totals;
+		global $status, $page, $search_term, $totals;
 		static $plugin_id_attrs = array();
 
 		list( $plugin_file, $plugin_data ) = $item;
@@ -817,7 +817,7 @@ class WP_Plugins_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 								'&plugin=' . urlencode( $plugin_file ) .
 								'&plugin_status=' . $context .
 								'&paged=' . $page .
-								'&s=' . $s;
+								'&s=' . $search_term;
 
 							$actions['deactivate'] = sprintf(
 								'<a href="%s" id="deactivate-%s" aria-label="%s">%s</a>',
@@ -842,7 +842,7 @@ class WP_Plugins_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 									'&amp;plugin=' . urlencode( $plugin_file ) .
 									'&amp;plugin_status=' . $context .
 									'&amp;paged=' . $page .
-									'&amp;s=' . $s;
+									'&amp;s=' . $search_term;
 
 								$actions['activate'] = sprintf(
 									'<a href="%s" id="activate-%s" class="edit" aria-label="%s">%s</a>',
@@ -872,7 +872,7 @@ class WP_Plugins_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 								'&amp;checked[]=' . urlencode( $plugin_file ) .
 								'&amp;plugin_status=' . $context .
 								'&amp;paged=' . $page .
-								'&amp;s=' . $s;
+								'&amp;s=' . $search_term;
 
 							$actions['delete'] = sprintf(
 								'<a href="%s" id="delete-%s" class="delete" aria-label="%s">%s</a>',
@@ -906,7 +906,7 @@ class WP_Plugins_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 								'&amp;plugin=' . urlencode( $plugin_file ) .
 								'&amp;plugin_status=' . $context .
 								'&amp;paged=' . $page .
-								'&amp;s=' . $s;
+								'&amp;s=' . $search_term;
 
 							$actions['deactivate'] = sprintf(
 								'<a href="%s" id="deactivate-%s" aria-label="%s">%s</a>',
@@ -924,7 +924,7 @@ class WP_Plugins_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 							'&amp;plugin=' . urlencode( $plugin_file ) .
 							'&amp;plugin_status=' . $context .
 							'&amp;paged=' . $page .
-							'&amp;s=' . $s;
+							'&amp;s=' . $search_term;
 
 						$actions['resume'] = sprintf(
 							'<a href="%s" id="resume-%s" class="resume-link" aria-label="%s">%s</a>',
@@ -948,7 +948,7 @@ class WP_Plugins_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 									'&amp;plugin=' . urlencode( $plugin_file ) .
 									'&amp;plugin_status=' . $context .
 									'&amp;paged=' . $page .
-									'&amp;s=' . $s;
+									'&amp;s=' . $search_term;
 
 								$actions['activate'] = sprintf(
 									'<a href="%s" id="activate-%s" class="edit" aria-label="%s">%s</a>',
@@ -978,7 +978,7 @@ class WP_Plugins_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 								'&amp;checked[]=' . urlencode( $plugin_file ) .
 								'&amp;plugin_status=' . $context .
 								'&amp;paged=' . $page .
-								'&amp;s=' . $s;
+								'&amp;s=' . $search_term;
 
 							$actions['delete'] = sprintf(
 								'<a href="%s" id="delete-%s" class="delete" aria-label="%s">%s</a>',
diff --git a/src/wp-admin/network/sites.php b/src/wp-admin/network/sites.php
index 17a072287d..208ef37c51 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/network/sites.php
+++ b/src/wp-admin/network/sites.php
@@ -411,7 +411,7 @@ if ( isset( $_REQUEST['s'] ) && strlen( $_REQUEST['s'] ) ) {
 	printf(
 		/* translators: %s: Search query. */
 		__( 'Search results for: %s' ),
-		'<strong>' . esc_html( $s ) . '</strong>'
+		'<strong>' . esc_html( $search_term ) . '</strong>'
 	);
 	echo '</span>';
 }
diff --git a/src/wp-admin/network/themes.php b/src/wp-admin/network/themes.php
index 9794c08f8f..1a5e7180db 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/network/themes.php
+++ b/src/wp-admin/network/themes.php
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ $pagenum       = $wp_list_table->get_pagenum();
 
 $action = $wp_list_table->current_action();
 
-$s = isset( $_REQUEST['s'] ) ? $_REQUEST['s'] : '';
+$search_term = isset( $_REQUEST['s'] ) ? $_REQUEST['s'] : '';
 
 // Clean up request URI from temporary args for screen options/paging uri's to work as expected.
 $temp_args = array(
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ if ( $action ) {
 					array(
 						'deleted' => count( $themes ),
 						'paged'   => $paged,
-						's'       => $s,
+						's'       => $search_term,
 					),
 					network_admin_url( 'themes.php' )
 				)
@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ if ( isset( $_REQUEST['s'] ) && strlen( $_REQUEST['s'] ) ) {
 	printf(
 		/* translators: %s: Search query. */
 		__( 'Search results for: %s' ),
-		'<strong>' . esc_html( $s ) . '</strong>'
+		'<strong>' . esc_html( $search_term ) . '</strong>'
 	);
 	echo '</span>';
 }
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/admin/wpPluginsListTable.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/admin/wpPluginsListTable.php
index e75a473e2b..aec3ebf536 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/tests/admin/wpPluginsListTable.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/admin/wpPluginsListTable.php
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ class Tests_Admin_wpPluginsListTable extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 	 * Creates an admin user before any tests run and backs up the `$s` global.
 	 */
 	public static function set_up_before_class() {
-		global $s;
+		global $search_term;
 
 		parent::set_up_before_class();
 
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ class Tests_Admin_wpPluginsListTable extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 				'user_email' => 'testadmin@example.com',
 			)
 		);
-		self::$original_s = $s;
+		self::$original_s = $search_term;
 	}
 
 	public function set_up() {
@@ -72,9 +72,9 @@ class Tests_Admin_wpPluginsListTable extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 	 * Restores the `$s` global after each test.
 	 */
 	public function tear_down() {
-		global $s;
+		global $search_term;
 
-		$s = self::$original_s;
+		$search_term = self::$original_s;
 
 		parent::tear_down();
 	}
@@ -307,11 +307,11 @@ class Tests_Admin_wpPluginsListTable extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 	 * @covers WP_Plugins_List_Table::prepare_items
 	 */
 	public function test_plugins_list_filter() {
-		global $status, $s;
+		global $status, $search_term;
 
-		$old_status = $status;
-		$status     = 'mustuse';
-		$s          = '';
+		$old_status  = $status;
+		$status      = 'mustuse';
+		$search_term = '';
 
 		add_filter( 'plugins_list', array( $this, 'plugins_list_filter' ), 10, 1 );
 		$this->table->prepare_items();