diff --git a/addons/account/wizard/setup_wizards.py b/addons/account/wizard/setup_wizards.py
index 52ddf221ef0..90c870782ca 100644
--- a/addons/account/wizard/setup_wizards.py
+++ b/addons/account/wizard/setup_wizards.py
@@ -79,8 +79,11 @@ class SetupBarBankConfigWizard(models.TransientModel):
     num_journals_without_account = fields.Integer(default=lambda self: self._number_unlinked_journal())
 
     def _number_unlinked_journal(self):
-        return self.env['account.journal'].search([('type', '=', 'bank'), ('bank_account_id', '=', False),
-                                                   ('id', '!=', self.default_linked_journal_id())], count=True)
+        return self.env['account.journal'].search_count([
+            ('type', '=', 'bank'),
+            ('bank_account_id', '=', False),
+            ('id', '!=', self.default_linked_journal_id()),
+        ])
 
     @api.onchange('acc_number')
     def _onchange_acc_number(self):
diff --git a/addons/crm/models/crm_lead.py b/addons/crm/models/crm_lead.py
index 22fb969c361..7bdaa7e4958 100644
--- a/addons/crm/models/crm_lead.py
+++ b/addons/crm/models/crm_lead.py
@@ -774,7 +774,7 @@ class Lead(models.Model):
         return result
 
     @api.model
-    def search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False):
+    def search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None):
         """ Override to support ordering on my_activity_date_deadline.
 
         Ordering through web client calls search_read with an order parameter set.
@@ -804,8 +804,9 @@ class Lead(models.Model):
         All other search and search_read are left untouched by this override to avoid
         side effects. Search_count is not affected by this override.
         """
-        if count or not order or 'my_activity_date_deadline' not in order:
-            return super(Lead, self).search(domain, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order, count=count)
+        if not order or 'my_activity_date_deadline' not in order:
+            return super().search(domain, offset, limit, order)
+
         order_items = [order_item.strip().lower() for order_item in (order or self._order).split(',')]
 
         # Perform a read_group on my activities to get a mapping lead_id / deadline
@@ -825,7 +826,7 @@ class Lead(models.Model):
 
         # Search leads linked to those activities and order them. See docstring
         # of this method for more details.
-        search_res = super(Lead, self).search(my_lead_domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=my_lead_order, count=count)
+        search_res = super().search(my_lead_domain, order=my_lead_order)
         my_lead_ids_ordered = sorted(search_res.ids, key=lambda lead_id: my_lead_mapping[lead_id], reverse=not activity_asc)
         # keep only requested window (offset + limit, or offset+)
         my_lead_ids_keep = my_lead_ids_ordered[offset:(offset + limit)] if limit else my_lead_ids_ordered[offset:]
@@ -847,9 +848,9 @@ class Lead(models.Model):
             lead_offset = 0
         lead_order = ', '.join(item for item in order_items if 'my_activity_date_deadline' not in item)
 
-        other_lead_res = super(Lead, self).search(
+        other_lead_res = super().search(
             expression.AND([[('id', 'not in', my_lead_ids_skip)], domain]),
-            offset=lead_offset, limit=lead_limit, order=lead_order, count=count
+            lead_offset, lead_limit, lead_order,
         )
         return self.browse(my_lead_ids_keep) + other_lead_res
 
diff --git a/addons/hr/models/hr_employee.py b/addons/hr/models/hr_employee.py
index 81c807f801a..0e2dfcaf601 100644
--- a/addons/hr/models/hr_employee.py
+++ b/addons/hr/models/hr_employee.py
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ class HrEmployeePrivate(models.Model):
         return self.env['hr.employee.public'].get_view(view_id, view_type, **options)
 
     @api.model
-    def _search(self, args, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False, access_rights_uid=None):
+    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, access_rights_uid=None):
         """
             We override the _search because it is the method that checks the access rights
             This is correct to override the _search. That way we enforce the fact that calling
@@ -246,14 +246,14 @@ class HrEmployeePrivate(models.Model):
             employees exactly match the ids of the related hr.employee.
         """
         if self.check_access_rights('read', raise_exception=False):
-            return super(HrEmployeePrivate, self)._search(args, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order, count=count, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
+            return super()._search(domain, offset, limit, order, access_rights_uid)
         try:
-            ids = self.env['hr.employee.public']._search(args, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order, count=count, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
+            ids = self.env['hr.employee.public']._search(domain, offset, limit, order, access_rights_uid)
         except ValueError:
             raise AccessError(_('You do not have access to this document.'))
-        if not count and isinstance(ids, Query):
+        if isinstance(ids, Query):
             # the result is expected from this table, so we should link tables
-            ids = super(HrEmployeePrivate, self.sudo())._search([('id', 'in', ids)])
+            ids = super(HrEmployeePrivate, self.sudo())._search([('id', 'in', ids)], order=order)
         return ids
 
     def get_formview_id(self, access_uid=None):
diff --git a/addons/hr_holidays/models/hr_leave_type.py b/addons/hr_holidays/models/hr_leave_type.py
index 32b31f335fa..08446c13dce 100644
--- a/addons/hr_holidays/models/hr_leave_type.py
+++ b/addons/hr_holidays/models/hr_leave_type.py
@@ -553,7 +553,7 @@ class HolidaysType(models.Model):
         return res
 
     @api.model
-    def _search(self, args, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False, access_rights_uid=None):
+    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, access_rights_uid=None):
         """ Override _search to order the results, according to some employee.
         The order is the following
 
@@ -566,12 +566,13 @@ class HolidaysType(models.Model):
         to the method.
         """
         employee_id = self._get_contextual_employee_id()
-        post_sort = (not count and not order and employee_id)
-        leave_ids = super(HolidaysType, self)._search(args, offset=offset, limit=(None if post_sort else limit), order=order, count=count, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
-        leaves = self.browse(leave_ids)
-        if post_sort:
-            return leaves.sorted(key=self._model_sorting_key, reverse=True).ids[:limit or None]
-        return leave_ids
+        if not order and employee_id:
+            # retrieve all leaves, sort them, then apply offset and limit
+            leaves = self.browse(super()._search(domain, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid))
+            leaves = leaves.sorted(key=self._model_sorting_key, reverse=True)
+            leaves = leaves[offset:(offset + limit) if limit else None]
+            return leaves.ids
+        return super()._search(domain, offset, limit, order, access_rights_uid)
 
     def action_see_days_allocated(self):
         self.ensure_one()
diff --git a/addons/mail/models/mail_activity.py b/addons/mail/models/mail_activity.py
index 824a0a1179b..4b73235f465 100644
--- a/addons/mail/models/mail_activity.py
+++ b/addons/mail/models/mail_activity.py
@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ class MailActivity(models.Model):
         return super(MailActivity, self).unlink()
 
     @api.model
-    def _search(self, args, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False, access_rights_uid=None):
+    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, access_rights_uid=None):
         """ Override that adds specific access rights of mail.activity, to remove
         ids uid could not see according to our custom rules. Please refer to
         _filter_access_rules_remaining for more details about those rules.
@@ -381,16 +381,10 @@ class MailActivity(models.Model):
 
         # Rules do not apply to administrator
         if self.env.is_superuser():
-            return super(MailActivity, self)._search(
-                args, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order,
-                count=count, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
-        # Perform a super with count as False, to have the ids, not a counter
-        ids = super(MailActivity, self)._search(
-            args, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order,
-            count=False, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
-        if not ids and count:
-            return 0
-        elif not ids:
+            return super()._search(domain, offset, limit, order, access_rights_uid)
+
+        ids = super()._search(domain, offset, limit, order, access_rights_uid)
+        if not ids:
             return ids
 
         # check read access rights before checking the actual rules on the given ids
@@ -426,12 +420,9 @@ class MailActivity(models.Model):
                     activity['id'] for activity in activities_to_check
                     if activity['res_model'] == doc_model and activity['res_id'] in valid_doc_ids)
 
-        if count:
-            return len(allowed_ids)
-        else:
-            # re-construct a list based on ids, because 'allowed_ids' does not keep the original order
-            id_list = [id for id in ids if id in allowed_ids]
-            return id_list
+        # re-construct a list based on ids, because 'allowed_ids' does not keep the original order
+        id_list = [id for id in ids if id in allowed_ids]
+        return id_list
 
     @api.model
     def _read_group_raw(self, domain, fields, groupby, offset=0, limit=None, orderby=False, lazy=True):
@@ -447,7 +438,7 @@ class MailActivity(models.Model):
 
         # Rules do not apply to administrator
         if not self.env.is_superuser():
-            allowed_ids = self._search(domain, count=False)
+            allowed_ids = self._search(domain)
             if allowed_ids:
                 domain = expression.AND([domain, [('id', 'in', allowed_ids)]])
             else:
diff --git a/addons/mail/models/mail_blacklist.py b/addons/mail/models/mail_blacklist.py
index a4fcd1e9cf4..28acd4e947b 100644
--- a/addons/mail/models/mail_blacklist.py
+++ b/addons/mail/models/mail_blacklist.py
@@ -51,23 +51,18 @@ class MailBlackList(models.Model):
             values['email'] = tools.email_normalize(values['email'])
         return super(MailBlackList, self).write(values)
 
-    def _search(self, args, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False, access_rights_uid=None):
+    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, access_rights_uid=None):
         """ Override _search in order to grep search on email field and make it
         lower-case and sanitized """
-        if args:
-            new_args = []
-            for arg in args:
-                if isinstance(arg, (list, tuple)) and arg[0] == 'email' and isinstance(arg[2], str):
-                    normalized = tools.email_normalize(arg[2])
-                    if normalized:
-                        new_args.append([arg[0], arg[1], normalized])
-                    else:
-                        new_args.append(arg)
-                else:
-                    new_args.append(arg)
-        else:
-            new_args = args
-        return super(MailBlackList, self)._search(new_args, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order, count=count, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
+        def normalize(arg):
+            if isinstance(arg, (list, tuple)) and arg[0] == 'email' and isinstance(arg[2], str):
+                normalized = tools.email_normalize(arg[2])
+                if normalized:
+                    return (arg[0], arg[1], normalized)
+            return arg
+
+        domain = [normalize(item) for item in domain]
+        return super()._search(domain, offset, limit, order, access_rights_uid)
 
     def _add(self, email, message=None):
         normalized = tools.email_normalize(email)
diff --git a/addons/mail/models/mail_message.py b/addons/mail/models/mail_message.py
index e584d1ee3b3..6e8c4c9e6a4 100644
--- a/addons/mail/models/mail_message.py
+++ b/addons/mail/models/mail_message.py
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ class Message(models.Model):
         self._cr.execute("""CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS mail_message_model_res_id_id_idx ON mail_message (model, res_id, id)""")
 
     @api.model
-    def _search(self, args, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False, access_rights_uid=None):
+    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, access_rights_uid=None):
         """ Override that adds specific access rights of mail.message, to remove
         ids uid could not see according to our custom rules. Please refer to
         check_access_rule for more details about those rules.
@@ -273,19 +273,13 @@ class Message(models.Model):
         """
         # Rules do not apply to administrator
         if self.env.is_superuser():
-            return super(Message, self)._search(
-                args, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order,
-                count=count, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
+            return super()._search(domain, offset, limit, order, access_rights_uid)
         # Non-employee see only messages with a subtype and not internal
         if not self.env['res.users'].has_group('base.group_user'):
-            args = expression.AND([self._get_search_domain_share(), args])
+            domain = expression.AND([self._get_search_domain_share(), domain])
         # Perform a super with count as False, to have the ids, not a counter
-        ids = super(Message, self)._search(
-            args, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order,
-            count=False, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
-        if not ids and count:
-            return 0
-        elif not ids:
+        ids = super()._search(domain, offset, limit, order, access_rights_uid)
+        if not ids:
             return ids
 
         pid = self.env.user.partner_id.id
@@ -319,12 +313,9 @@ class Message(models.Model):
 
         final_ids = author_ids | partner_ids | allowed_ids
 
-        if count:
-            return len(final_ids)
-        else:
-            # re-construct a list based on ids, because set did not keep the original order
-            id_list = [id for id in ids if id in final_ids]
-            return id_list
+        # re-construct a list based on ids, because set did not keep the original order
+        id_list = [id for id in ids if id in final_ids]
+        return id_list
 
     @api.model
     def _find_allowed_model_wise(self, doc_model, doc_dict):
diff --git a/addons/mrp/models/mrp_bom.py b/addons/mrp/models/mrp_bom.py
index 70f48a58838..2ff22019fdf 100644
--- a/addons/mrp/models/mrp_bom.py
+++ b/addons/mrp/models/mrp_bom.py
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ class MrpBom(models.Model):
     def check_kit_has_not_orderpoint(self):
         product_ids = [pid for bom in self.filtered(lambda bom: bom.type == "phantom")
                            for pid in (bom.product_id.ids or bom.product_tmpl_id.product_variant_ids.ids)]
-        if self.env['stock.warehouse.orderpoint'].search([('product_id', 'in', product_ids)], count=True):
+        if self.env['stock.warehouse.orderpoint'].search_count([('product_id', 'in', product_ids)], limit=1):
             raise ValidationError(_("You can not create a kit-type bill of materials for products that have at least one reordering rule."))
 
     @api.ondelete(at_uninstall=False)
diff --git a/addons/mrp/models/stock_warehouse.py b/addons/mrp/models/stock_warehouse.py
index 55e878dde2c..9ece67f904c 100644
--- a/addons/mrp/models/stock_warehouse.py
+++ b/addons/mrp/models/stock_warehouse.py
@@ -303,9 +303,13 @@ class Orderpoint(models.Model):
 
     @api.constrains('product_id')
     def check_product_is_not_kit(self):
-        if self.env['mrp.bom'].search(['|', ('product_id', 'in', self.product_id.ids),
-                                            '&', ('product_id', '=', False), ('product_tmpl_id', 'in', self.product_id.product_tmpl_id.ids),
-                                       ('type', '=', 'phantom')], count=True):
+        domain = [
+            '|', ('product_id', 'in', self.product_id.ids),
+                 '&', ('product_id', '=', False),
+                      ('product_tmpl_id', 'in', self.product_id.product_tmpl_id.ids),
+            ('type', '=', 'phantom'),
+        ]
+        if self.env['mrp.bom'].search_count(domain, limit=1):
             raise ValidationError(_("A product with a kit-type bill of materials can not have a reordering rule."))
 
     def _get_orderpoint_products(self):
diff --git a/addons/phone_validation/models/phone_blacklist.py b/addons/phone_validation/models/phone_blacklist.py
index f940a9fb6b9..c8deaf74926 100644
--- a/addons/phone_validation/models/phone_blacklist.py
+++ b/addons/phone_validation/models/phone_blacklist.py
@@ -60,23 +60,18 @@ class PhoneBlackList(models.Model):
             values['number'] = sanitized
         return super(PhoneBlackList, self).write(values)
 
-    def _search(self, args, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False, access_rights_uid=None):
+    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, access_rights_uid=None):
         """ Override _search in order to grep search on sanitized number field """
-        if args:
-            new_args = []
-            for arg in args:
-                if isinstance(arg, (list, tuple)) and arg[0] == 'number' and isinstance(arg[2], str):
-                    number = arg[2]
-                    sanitized = phone_validation.phone_sanitize_numbers_w_record([number], self.env.user)[number]['sanitized']
-                    if sanitized:
-                        new_args.append([arg[0], arg[1], sanitized])
-                    else:
-                        new_args.append(arg)
-                else:
-                    new_args.append(arg)
-        else:
-            new_args = args
-        return super(PhoneBlackList, self)._search(new_args, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order, count=count, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
+        def sanitize_number(arg):
+            if isinstance(arg, (list, tuple)) and arg[0] == 'number' and isinstance(arg[2], str):
+                number = arg[2]
+                sanitized = phone_validation.phone_sanitize_numbers_w_record([number], self.env.user)[number]['sanitized']
+                if sanitized:
+                    return (arg[0], arg[1], sanitized)
+            return arg
+
+        domain = [sanitize_number(item) for item in domain]
+        return super()._search(domain, offset, limit, order, access_rights_uid)
 
     def add(self, number, message=None):
         sanitized = phone_validation.phone_sanitize_numbers_w_record([number], self.env.user)[number]['sanitized']
diff --git a/addons/product/models/product_product.py b/addons/product/models/product_product.py
index 49b9cee8dc7..9f7c1f91108 100644
--- a/addons/product/models/product_product.py
+++ b/addons/product/models/product_product.py
@@ -408,11 +408,11 @@ class ProductProduct(models.Model):
         return template.product_variant_id or template._create_first_product_variant()
 
     @api.model
-    def _search(self, args, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False, access_rights_uid=None):
+    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, access_rights_uid=None):
         # TDE FIXME: strange
         if self._context.get('search_default_categ_id'):
-            args.append((('categ_id', 'child_of', self._context['search_default_categ_id'])))
-        return super(ProductProduct, self)._search(args, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order, count=count, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
+            domain.append((('categ_id', 'child_of', self._context['search_default_categ_id'])))
+        return super()._search(domain, offset, limit, order, access_rights_uid)
 
     @api.depends_context('display_default_code', 'seller_id')
     def _compute_display_name(self):
diff --git a/addons/project/models/project.py b/addons/project/models/project.py
index adab59489f3..d42fa7306a7 100644
--- a/addons/project/models/project.py
+++ b/addons/project/models/project.py
@@ -672,7 +672,7 @@ class Project(models.Model):
         return result
 
     @api.model
-    def _search(self, args, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False, access_rights_uid=None):
+    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, access_rights_uid=None):
         new_order, item_index, desc = [], -1, False
         for index, order_item in enumerate((order or self._order).split(',')):
             order_item_list = order_item.strip().lower().split(' ')
@@ -681,7 +681,7 @@ class Project(models.Model):
                 desc = order_item_list[-1] == 'desc'
             else:
                 new_order.append(order_item)
-        query = super()._search(args, offset, limit, ', '.join(new_order), count, access_rights_uid)
+        query = super()._search(domain, offset, limit, ', '.join(new_order), access_rights_uid)
         if item_index != -1:
             query_order_list = query.order.split(',')
             query_order_list.insert(item_index, f"""
@@ -1890,10 +1890,10 @@ class Task(models.Model):
         return super(Task, self).read_group(domain, fields, groupby, offset=offset, limit=limit, orderby=orderby, lazy=lazy)
 
     @api.model
-    def _search(self, args, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False, access_rights_uid=None):
-        fields_list = {term[0] for term in args if isinstance(term, (tuple, list)) and term not in [expression.TRUE_LEAF, expression.FALSE_LEAF]}
+    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, access_rights_uid=None):
+        fields_list = {term[0] for term in domain if isinstance(term, (tuple, list)) and term not in [expression.TRUE_LEAF, expression.FALSE_LEAF]}
         self._ensure_fields_are_accessible(fields_list)
-        return super(Task, self)._search(args, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order, count=count, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
+        return super()._search(domain, offset, limit, order, access_rights_uid)
 
     def mapped(self, func):
         # Note: This will protect the filtered method too
diff --git a/addons/test_mail/tests/test_mail_activity.py b/addons/test_mail/tests/test_mail_activity.py
index 91d59b93d3c..8cf68ca76ef 100644
--- a/addons/test_mail/tests/test_mail_activity.py
+++ b/addons/test_mail/tests/test_mail_activity.py
@@ -82,13 +82,13 @@ class TestActivityRights(TestActivityCommon):
 
         # can _search activities if access to the document
         self.env['mail.activity'].with_user(self.user_employee)._search(
-            [('id', '=', test_activity.id)], count=False)
+            [('id', '=', test_activity.id)])
 
         # cannot _search activities if no access to the document
         with patch.object(MailTestActivity, 'check_access_rights', autospec=True, side_effect=_employee_crash):
             with self.assertRaises(exceptions.AccessError):
                 searched_activity = self.env['mail.activity'].with_user(self.user_employee)._search(
-                    [('id', '=', test_activity.id)], count=False)
+                    [('id', '=', test_activity.id)])
 
         # can read_group activities if access to the document
         read_group_result = self.env['mail.activity'].with_user(self.user_employee).read_group(
diff --git a/odoo/addons/base/models/ir_attachment.py b/odoo/addons/base/models/ir_attachment.py
index 92940260dc0..bfeaa03f8c1 100644
--- a/odoo/addons/base/models/ir_attachment.py
+++ b/odoo/addons/base/models/ir_attachment.py
@@ -528,23 +528,22 @@ class IrAttachment(models.Model):
         return super().read_group(domain, fields, groupby, offset=offset, limit=limit, orderby=orderby, lazy=lazy)
 
     @api.model
-    def _search(self, args, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False, access_rights_uid=None):
+    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, access_rights_uid=None):
         # add res_field=False in domain if not present; the arg[0] trick below
         # works for domain items and '&'/'|'/'!' operators too
         discard_binary_fields_attachments = False
-        if not any(arg[0] in ('id', 'res_field') for arg in args):
+        if not any(arg[0] in ('id', 'res_field') for arg in domain):
             discard_binary_fields_attachments = True
-            args.insert(0, ('res_field', '=', False))
+            domain = [('res_field', '=', False)] + domain
 
-        ids = super(IrAttachment, self)._search(args, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order,
-                                                count=False, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
+        ids = super()._search(domain, offset, limit, order, access_rights_uid)
 
         if self.env.is_superuser():
             # rules do not apply for the superuser
-            return len(ids) if count else ids
+            return ids
 
         if not ids:
-            return 0 if count else []
+            return []
 
         # Work with a set, as list.remove() is prohibitive for large lists of documents
         # (takes 20+ seconds on a db with 100k docs during search_count()!)
@@ -597,11 +596,12 @@ class IrAttachment(models.Model):
         # expected records to retrieve
         if len(orig_ids) == limit and len(result) < self._context.get('need', limit):
             need = self._context.get('need', limit) - len(result)
-            result.extend(self.with_context(need=need)._search(args, offset=offset + len(orig_ids),
-                                       limit=limit, order=order, count=False,
-                                       access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)[:limit - len(result)])
+            more_ids = self.with_context(need=need)._search(
+                domain, offset + len(orig_ids), limit, order, access_rights_uid,
+            )
+            result.extend(more_ids[:limit - len(result)])
 
-        return len(result) if count else list(result)
+        return list(result)
 
     def _read(self, fields):
         self.check('read')
diff --git a/odoo/addons/base/models/ir_ui_menu.py b/odoo/addons/base/models/ir_ui_menu.py
index 187a2d7e4d2..19b29fa4981 100644
--- a/odoo/addons/base/models/ir_ui_menu.py
+++ b/odoo/addons/base/models/ir_ui_menu.py
@@ -138,8 +138,8 @@ class IrUiMenu(models.Model):
         return self.filtered(lambda menu: menu.id in visible_ids)
 
     @api.model
-    def _search(self, args, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False, access_rights_uid=None):
-        menu_ids = super(IrUiMenu, self)._search(args, offset=0, limit=None, order=order, count=False, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
+    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, access_rights_uid=None):
+        menu_ids = super()._search(domain, order=order, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
         menus = self.browse(menu_ids)
         if menus:
             # menu filtering is done only on main menu tree, not other menu lists
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ class IrUiMenu(models.Model):
                 menus = menus[offset:]
             if limit:
                 menus = menus[:limit]
-        return len(menus) if count else menus.ids
+        return menus.ids
 
     def name_get(self):
         return [(menu.id, menu._get_full_name()) for menu in self]
diff --git a/odoo/addons/base/models/res_bank.py b/odoo/addons/base/models/res_bank.py
index f8356590061..afb0dd48f12 100644
--- a/odoo/addons/base/models/res_bank.py
+++ b/odoo/addons/base/models/res_bank.py
@@ -113,19 +113,18 @@ class ResPartnerBank(models.Model):
                 for acc in self]
 
     @api.model
-    def _search(self, args, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False, access_rights_uid=None):
-        pos = 0
-        while pos < len(args):
-            # DLE P14
-            if args[pos][0] == 'acc_number':
-                op = args[pos][1]
-                value = args[pos][2]
+    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, access_rights_uid=None):
+        def sanitize(arg):
+            if isinstance(arg, (tuple, list)) and arg[0] == 'acc_number':
+                value = arg[2]
                 if not isinstance(value, str) and isinstance(value, Iterable):
                     value = [sanitize_account_number(i) for i in value]
                 else:
                     value = sanitize_account_number(value)
-                if 'like' in op:
+                if 'like' in arg[1]:
                     value = '%' + value + '%'
-                args[pos] = ('sanitized_acc_number', op, value)
-            pos += 1
-        return super(ResPartnerBank, self)._search(args, offset, limit, order, count=count, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
+                return ('sanitized_acc_number', arg[1], value)
+            return arg
+
+        domain = [sanitize(item) for item in domain]
+        return super()._search(domain, offset, limit, order, access_rights_uid)
diff --git a/odoo/addons/base/models/res_partner.py b/odoo/addons/base/models/res_partner.py
index f36acb3ba26..f40fa004271 100644
--- a/odoo/addons/base/models/res_partner.py
+++ b/odoo/addons/base/models/res_partner.py
@@ -886,15 +886,14 @@ class Partner(models.Model):
         return partner.name_get()[0]
 
     @api.model
-    def _search(self, args, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False, access_rights_uid=None):
+    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, access_rights_uid=None):
         """ Override search() to always show inactive children when searching via ``child_of`` operator. The ORM will
         always call search() with a simple domain of the form [('parent_id', 'in', [ids])]. """
         # a special ``domain`` is set on the ``child_ids`` o2m to bypass this logic, as it uses similar domain expressions
-        if len(args) == 1 and len(args[0]) == 3 and args[0][:2] == ('parent_id','in') \
-                and args[0][2] != [False]:
+        if len(domain) == 1 and len(domain[0]) == 3 and domain[0][:2] == ('parent_id', 'in') \
+                and domain[0][2] != [False]:
             self = self.with_context(active_test=False)
-        return super(Partner, self)._search(args, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order,
-                                            count=count, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
+        return super()._search(domain, offset, limit, order, access_rights_uid)
 
     @api.model
     @api.returns('self', lambda value: value.id)
diff --git a/odoo/addons/base/models/res_users.py b/odoo/addons/base/models/res_users.py
index 6883d1efd92..47304cec5a2 100644
--- a/odoo/addons/base/models/res_users.py
+++ b/odoo/addons/base/models/res_users.py
@@ -188,14 +188,14 @@ class Groups(models.Model):
         return where
 
     @api.model
-    def _search(self, args, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False, access_rights_uid=None):
+    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, access_rights_uid=None):
         # add explicit ordering if search is sorted on full_name
         if order and order.startswith('full_name'):
-            groups = super(Groups, self).search(args)
+            groups = super().search(domain)
             groups = groups.sorted('full_name', reverse=order.endswith('DESC'))
             groups = groups[offset:offset+limit] if limit else groups[offset:]
-            return len(groups) if count else groups.ids
-        return super(Groups, self)._search(args, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order, count=count, access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
+            return groups.ids
+        return super()._search(domain, offset, limit, order, access_rights_uid)
 
     def copy(self, default=None):
         self.ensure_one()
@@ -561,13 +561,12 @@ class Users(models.Model):
         return super(Users, self).read_group(domain, fields, groupby, offset=offset, limit=limit, orderby=orderby, lazy=lazy)
 
     @api.model
-    def _search(self, args, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False, access_rights_uid=None):
-        if not self.env.su and args:
-            domain_fields = {term[0] for term in args if isinstance(term, (tuple, list))}
+    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, access_rights_uid=None):
+        if not self.env.su and domain:
+            domain_fields = {term[0] for term in domain if isinstance(term, (tuple, list))}
             if domain_fields.intersection(USER_PRIVATE_FIELDS):
                 raise AccessError(_('Invalid search criterion'))
-        return super(Users, self)._search(args, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order, count=count,
-                                          access_rights_uid=access_rights_uid)
+        return super()._search(domain, offset, limit, order, access_rights_uid)
 
     @api.model_create_multi
     def create(self, vals_list):
diff --git a/odoo/addons/base/tests/test_api.py b/odoo/addons/base/tests/test_api.py
index e88d643181d..92fee961f34 100644
--- a/odoo/addons/base/tests/test_api.py
+++ b/odoo/addons/base/tests/test_api.py
@@ -70,10 +70,10 @@ class TestAPI(SavepointCaseWithUserDemo):
 
     @mute_logger('odoo.models')
     def test_04_query_count(self):
-        """ Test the search method with count=True. """
+        """ Test the search_count method. """
         self.cr.execute("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM res_partner WHERE active")
         count1 = self.cr.fetchone()[0]
-        count2 = self.env['res.partner'].search([], count=True)
+        count2 = self.env['res.partner'].search_count([])
         self.assertIsInstance(count1, int)
         self.assertIsInstance(count2, int)
         self.assertEqual(count1, count2)
diff --git a/odoo/addons/base/tests/test_search.py b/odoo/addons/base/tests/test_search.py
index 1d9c140ce6c..6e004adc0ff 100644
--- a/odoo/addons/base/tests/test_search.py
+++ b/odoo/addons/base/tests/test_search.py
@@ -203,7 +203,4 @@ class test_search(TransactionCase):
             {'name': 'runbot'},
         ])
         self.assertEqual(len(partners) + count_partner_before, Partner.search_count([]))
-        self.assertEqual(len(partners) + count_partner_before, Partner.search([], count=True))
-
         self.assertEqual(3, Partner.search_count([], limit=3))
-        self.assertEqual(3, Partner.search([], count=True, limit=3))
diff --git a/odoo/models.py b/odoo/models.py
index 66dbb6bef98..0cca07bf1e7 100644
--- a/odoo/models.py
+++ b/odoo/models.py
@@ -1469,15 +1469,13 @@ class BaseModel(metaclass=MetaModel):
                      list to match all records.
         :param limit: maximum number of record to count (upperbound) (default: all)
         """
-        res = self.search(domain, limit=limit, count=True)
-        return res if isinstance(res, int) else len(res)
+        query = self._search(domain, limit=limit, order='id')
+        return len(query)
 
     @api.model
-    @api.returns('self',
-        upgrade=lambda self, value, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False: value if count else self.browse(value),
-        downgrade=lambda self, value, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False: value if count else value.ids)
-    def search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False):
-        """ search(domain[, offset=0][, limit=None][, order=None][, count=False])
+    @api.returns('self')
+    def search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None):
+        """ search(domain[, offset=0][, limit=None][, order=None])
 
         Searches for records based on the ``domain``
         :ref:`search domain <reference/orm/domains>`.
@@ -1487,12 +1485,11 @@ class BaseModel(metaclass=MetaModel):
         :param int offset: number of results to ignore (default: none)
         :param int limit: maximum number of records to return (default: all)
         :param str order: sort string
-        :param bool count: if True, only counts and returns the number of matching records (default: False)
         :returns: at most ``limit`` records matching the search criteria
         :raise AccessError: if user is not allowed to access requested information
         """
-        res = self._search(domain, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order, count=count)
-        return res if count else self.browse(res)
+        query = self._search(domain, offset=offset, limit=limit, order=order)
+        return self.browse(query)
 
     #
     # display_name, name_get, name_create, name_search
@@ -4616,7 +4613,7 @@ class BaseModel(metaclass=MetaModel):
             self.env[model_name].flush_model(field_names)
 
     @api.model
-    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, count=False, access_rights_uid=None):
+    def _search(self, domain, offset=0, limit=None, order=None, access_rights_uid=None):
         """
         Private implementation of search() method, allowing specifying the uid to use for the access right check.
         This is useful for example when filling in the selection list for a drop-down and avoiding access rights errors,
@@ -4625,37 +4622,23 @@ class BaseModel(metaclass=MetaModel):
 
         :param access_rights_uid: optional user ID to use when checking access rights
                                   (not for ir.rules, this is only for ir.model.access)
-        :return: a list of record ids or an integer (if count is True)
+        :return: a collection of record ids (may be a ``Query`` object)
         """
         model = self.with_user(access_rights_uid) if access_rights_uid else self
         model.check_access_rights('read')
 
         if expression.is_false(self, domain):
             # optimization: no need to query, as no record satisfies the domain
-            return 0 if count else []
+            return ()
 
         # the flush must be done before the _where_calc(), as the latter can do some selects
         self._flush_search(domain, order=order)
 
         query = self._where_calc(domain)
         self._apply_ir_rules(query, 'read')
-        query.limit = limit
-
-        if count:
-            # Ignore order and offset when just counting, they don't make sense and could
-            # hurt performance
-            if limit:
-                # Special case to avoid counting every record in DB (which can be really slow).
-                # The result will be between 0 and limit.
-                query_str, params = query.select("")  # generates a `SELECT FROM` (faster)
-                query_str = f"SELECT COUNT(*) FROM ({query_str}) t"
-            else:
-                query_str, params = query.select("COUNT(*)")
-
-            self._cr.execute(query_str, params)
-            return self._cr.fetchone()[0]
 
         query.order = self._generate_order_by(order, query).replace('ORDER BY ', '')
+        query.limit = limit
         query.offset = offset
 
         return query
diff --git a/odoo/tools/query.py b/odoo/tools/query.py
index 39c30f27ff0..c3d27f5be53 100644
--- a/odoo/tools/query.py
+++ b/odoo/tools/query.py
@@ -223,6 +223,22 @@ class Query(object):
         return bool(self.get_result_ids())
 
     def __len__(self):
+        if self._ids is None and not self.offset:
+            from_clause, where_clause, params = self.get_sql()
+            where_clause = where_clause or 'TRUE'
+            if self.limit:
+                # apply the limit, and wrap the query into a more efficient one
+                query_str = f'''
+                    SELECT COUNT(*) FROM (
+                        SELECT FROM {from_clause}
+                        WHERE {where_clause}
+                        LIMIT {int(self.limit)}
+                    ) t
+                '''
+            else:
+                query_str = f'SELECT COUNT(*) FROM {from_clause} WHERE {where_clause}'
+            self._cr.execute(query_str, params)
+            return self._cr.fetchone()[0]
         return len(self.get_result_ids())
 
     def __iter__(self):