diff --git a/ddgs/base.py b/ddgs/base.py
index c8a1027..7d3887e 100644
--- a/ddgs/base.py
+++ b/ddgs/base.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 from lxml import html
 from lxml.etree import HTMLParser as LHTMLParser
 
+from .exceptions import RatelimitException
 from .http_client import HttpClient
 from .results import BooksResult, ImagesResult, NewsResult, TextResult, VideosResult
 
@@ -65,6 +66,9 @@ def build_payload(
     def request(self, *args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> Any:  # noqa: ANN401
         """Make a request to the search engine."""
         resp = self.http_client.request(*args, **kwargs)
+        if resp.status_code == 429:
+            msg = "Rate limit exceeded."
+            raise RatelimitException(msg)
         if resp.status_code == 200:
             return resp.text
         return None
diff --git a/ddgs/ddgs.py b/ddgs/ddgs.py
index 004c7da..c4cb3df 100644
--- a/ddgs/ddgs.py
+++ b/ddgs/ddgs.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 
 from .base import BaseSearchEngine
 from .engines import ENGINES
-from .exceptions import DDGSException, TimeoutException
+from .exceptions import DDGSException, RatelimitException, TimeoutException
 from .http_client import HttpClient
 from .results import ResultsAggregator
 from .similarity import SimpleFilterRanker
@@ -202,6 +202,8 @@ def _search_sync(  # noqa: C901
                                 if r := f.result():
                                     results_aggregator.extend(r)
                                     seen_providers.add(f_engine.provider)
+                            except RatelimitException:
+                                raise
                             except Exception as ex:  # noqa: BLE001
                                 err = ex
                                 logger.info("Error in engine %s: %r", f_engine.name, ex)