haunt

[hawnt, hahnt, hant]

verb (used with object)

1. to visit habitually or appear to frequently as a spirit or ghost.

   to haunt a house; to haunt a person.

2. to recur persistently to the consciousness of; remain with.

   Memories of love haunted him.

3. to visit frequently; go to often.

   He haunted the galleries and bars that the artists went to.

   Synonyms: frequent

4. to frequent the company of; be often with.

   He haunted famous men, hoping to gain celebrity for himself.

5. to disturb or distress; cause to have anxiety; trouble; worry.

   His youthful escapades came back to haunt him.

   Synonyms: plague, vex, beset, obsess

verb (used without object)

1. to reappear continually as a spirit or ghost.

2. to visit habitually or regularly.

3. to remain persistently; loiter; stay; linger.

noun

1. Often haunts. a place frequently visited.

   to return to one's old haunts.

2. Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. and North England.,  a ghost.

haunt

/ hɔːnt /

verb

1. to visit (a person or place) in the form of a ghost

2. (tr) to intrude upon or recur to (the memory, thoughts, etc)

   he was haunted by the fear of insanity

3. to visit (a place) frequently

4. to associate with (someone) frequently

noun

1. (often plural) a place visited frequently

   an old haunt of hers

2. a place to which animals habitually resort for food, drink, shelter, etc

Other Word Forms

• haunter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of haunt¹

1200–50; Middle English haunten < Old French hanter to frequent, probably < Old Norse heimta to lead home, derivative of heim homewards; home

Word History and Origins

Origin of haunt¹

C13: from Old French hanter, of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse heimta to bring home, Old English hāmettan to give a home to; see _home

Example Sentences

Insisting he was unbowed, he said the deaths would be “the fuel of victory, the path to Jerusalem and a stain that will forever haunt the occupation.”

Read more on Wall Street Journal

McMahon’s brush with cancer might have been brief, relatively speaking, but the experience continued to haunt him long after he was given the all-clear.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In almost every conversation in Gaza, one haunting question now echoes without a clear answer: "When will the war end?"

Read more on BBC

"I'm haunted thinking about how scared he must have been in that flat," she said.

Read more on BBC

She would have turned 100 this month, but the former prime minister still haunts this conference and this party.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• annoy 
• bedevil 
• beset 
• besiege 
• frighten 
• hound 
• inhabit 
• obsess 
• permeate 
• pervade 
• plague 
• terrify 
• terrorize 
• torment 
• trouble 
• weigh on 
• worry