hunt
verb (used with object)
to chase or search for (game or other wild animals) for the purpose of catching or killing.
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hunt
1 American
[huhnt]
/ hʌnt /
verb (used with object)
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hunts,
present (3rd person singular)
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hunted,
past participle, past
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hunting
present participle
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to chase or search for (game or other wild animals) for the purpose of catching or killing.
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to pursue with force, hostility, etc., in order to capture (often followed bydown ).
They hunted him down and hanged him.
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to search for; seek; endeavor to obtain or find (often followed by up orout ).
to hunt up the most promising candidates for the position.
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to search (a place) thoroughly.
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to scour (an area) in pursuit of game.
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to use or direct (a horse, hound, etc.) in chasing game.
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Change Ringing. to alter the place of (a bell) in a hunt.
verb (used without object)
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hunts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hunted,
past participle, past
-
hunting
present participle
-
to engage in the pursuit, capture, or killing of wild animals for food or in sport.
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to make a search or quest (often followed by for orafter ).
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Change Ringing. to alter the place of a bell in its set according to certain rules.
noun
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hunts
plural
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an act or practice of hunting game or other wild animals.
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a search; a seeking or endeavor to find.
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a pursuit.
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a group of persons associated for the purpose of hunting; an association of hunters.
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an area hunted over.
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Change Ringing. a regularly varying order of permutations in the ringing of a group of from five to twelve bells.
Hunt
2
American
[huhnt]
/ hʌnt /
noun
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(James Henry) Leigh 1784–1859, English essayist, poet, and editor.
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Richard Morris, 1828–95, U.S. architect.
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(William) Holman 1827–1910, English painter.
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William Morris, 1824–79, U.S. painter (brother of Richard Morris Hunt).
hunt
1
British
/ hʌnt /
verb
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to seek out and kill or capture (game or wild animals) for food or sport
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to look (for); search (for)
to hunt for a book
to hunt up a friend
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(tr) to use (hounds, horses, etc) in the pursuit of wild animals, game, etc
to hunt a pack of hounds
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(tr) to search or draw (country) to hunt wild animals, game, etc
to hunt the parkland
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to track or chase diligently, esp so as to capture
to hunt down a criminal
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(tr; usually passive) to persecute; hound
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(intr) (of a gauge indicator, engine speed, etc) to oscillate about a mean value or position
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(intr) (of an aircraft, rocket, etc) to oscillate about a flight path
noun
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the act or an instance of hunting
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chase or search, esp of animals or game
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the area of a hunt
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a party or institution organized for the pursuit of wild animals or game, esp for sport
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the participants in or members of such a party or institution
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informal having a chance of success See also hunt down hunt up
that result keeps us in the hunt
Hunt
2
British
/ hʌnt /
noun
-
Henry , known as Orator Hunt . 1773–1835, British radical, who led the mass meeting that ended in the Peterloo Massacre (1819)
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( William ) Holman. 1827–1910, British painter; a founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (1848)
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James. 1947–93, British motor-racing driver: world champion 1976
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( Henry Cecil ) John , Baron. 1910–98, British army officer and mountaineer. He planned and led the expedition that first climbed Mount Everest (1953)
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( James Henry ) Leigh (liː). 1784–1859, British poet and essayist: a founder of The Examiner (1808) in which he promoted the work of Keats and Shelley
hunt
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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outhuntverb (used with object)
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overhuntverb (used with object)
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huntableadjective
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unhuntableadjective
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unhuntedadjective
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huntedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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huntsimple
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huntssimple
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have huntedperfect
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has huntedperfect
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am huntingprogressive
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are huntingprogressive
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is huntingprogressive
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have been huntingperfect progressive
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has been huntingperfect progressive
Past
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huntedsimple
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had huntedperfect
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was huntingprogressive
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were huntingprogressive
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had been huntingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hunt
First recorded before 1000; (for the verb) Middle English hunten, Old English huntian, derivative of hunta “hunter,” akin to hentan “to pursue”; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
To hunt is to track and kill an animal for fun or food. In Italy, they use pigs to hunt truffles. In the US, they use shotguns to hunt deer. Some humans hunt animals with a gun or a bow and arrow, and some animals hunt smaller animals — the way a wolf hunts rabbits or a cat hunts birds. You can hunt in a non-lethal way as well, like when you hunt all over your house for your lost car keys, or your little brother hunts for you during a game of hide-and-seek. The Old English root of hunt is huntian, "chase game."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Gunners have been on the hunt for an elite forward to lift their attack and still could be active on Tuesday's deadline day.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
One theory about the decline is that people are giving up the job hunt because of their frustrations.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
Australian police said Wednesday they were on the hunt for thieves who made off with hundreds of thousands of oysters.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
The complaint arrives a year after the 2025 animated musical “KPop Demon Hunters” — which centered on Huntrix, a music trio who hunt demons — reached unprecedented heights, becoming Netflix’s most-watched animated original movie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
‘Some day,’ he called, and his voice rang through the radiant air, ‘some day we will be together. We will hunt together in the Forest. Together-’ his voice broke.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
On Thursday he went after Fox News correspondent Jonathan Hunt during a broadcast, accusing him of inaccurately describing the current state of the war, and telling Fox anchor Bret Baier to “straighten out” his reporters.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026
Together, the projects could add over $700 million to the group’s Ebitda, Peel Hunt analysts said in a note to clients.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
St. Mary’s campus, was built in 1899 by architects Theodore Eisen and Sumner Hunt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Hunt had travelled from her hometown of Newark, while actors such as Jacob Elordi arrived from Rome fashion week.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
But before I can scramble to my feet, Reverend Hunt lifts me by one arm and holds me fast.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
The Colosseum, the largest amphitheatre in the world, was built in the first century and was used to host events like animal hunts and gladiatorial games.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
In the past, other parts of Scotland - including Orkney and Shetland - also had seabird hunts.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
With dozens of actors who lead guests through scavenger hunts, puzzles and conversations, Knott’s Berry Farm’s ‘Ghost Town Alive!’ can’t be replicated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
This low-hire, low-fire dynamic and lengthy job hunts have spooked many workers, who are now opting to cling to their jobs instead of making a jump.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026
With his free hand he reaches in his book bag and hunts around for a pencil.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
"In the marketplaces you basically only find pangolin scales, not the whole animals, which makes it hard to know which species are being hunted and where they are coming from," says Feijó.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
He was a sad figure adrift, a relic virtually alone until he was hunted down by the CIA and French intelligence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Hayes said consumers had stopped absorbing price increases and were migrating to the biggest and cheapest stores as they hunted for deals and tried to manage higher costs of living.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
River otters were hunted by the thousands for their pelts in the 17th and 18th centuries, according to the Sacramento Zoo’s page about the animal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Odysseus was frightened, for on one foot was a scar made in boyhood days by a wild boar he had hunted, and he thought she would recognize it.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Rescuers were on Monday still hunting for survivors a day after a ferry capsized off Northern Cyprus, leaving eight dead and more than a dozen missing, authorities said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
"Members of the royal family, especially the women, were active participants in skilled, physically demanding activities such as archery and hunting," said Dr. Zeinab Hashesh, lead author of the article in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
A hunting lodge stands beside pine forest burned by a wildfire that started July 22 and blackened about 104,000 acres in and around Le Porge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
The AI tools will be linked directly to government systems and allow South Koreans to book doctor’s appointments, receive help with apartment hunting or get tax advice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The children had been found barking and yapping in the forest during one of Lord Fredrick’s frequent hunting expeditions.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
