to chase or search for (game or other wild animals) for the purpose of catching or killing.
to pursue with force, hostility, etc., in order to capture (often followed bydown ).
They hunted him down and hanged him.
to search for; seek; endeavor to obtain or find (often followed by up orout ).
to hunt up the most promising candidates for the position.
to search (a place) thoroughly.
to scour (an area) in pursuit of game.
to use or direct (a horse, hound, etc.) in chasing game.
Change Ringing. to alter the place of (a bell) in a hunt.
to engage in the pursuit, capture, or killing of wild animals for food or in sport.
to make a search or quest (often followed by for orafter ).
Change Ringing. to alter the place of a bell in its set according to certain rules.
an act or practice of hunting game or other wild animals.
a search; a seeking or endeavor to find.
a pursuit.
a group of persons associated for the purpose of hunting; an association of hunters.
an area hunted over.
Change Ringing. a regularly varying order of permutations in the ringing of a group of from five to twelve bells.
(James Henry) Leigh 1784–1859, English essayist, poet, and editor.
Richard Morris, 1828–95, U.S. architect.
(William) Holman 1827–1910, English painter.
William Morris, 1824–79, U.S. painter (brother of Richard Morris Hunt).
to seek out and kill or capture (game or wild animals) for food or sport
to look (for); search (for)
to hunt for a book
to hunt up a friend
(tr) to use (hounds, horses, etc) in the pursuit of wild animals, game, etc
to hunt a pack of hounds
(tr) to search or draw (country) to hunt wild animals, game, etc
to hunt the parkland
to track or chase diligently, esp so as to capture
to hunt down a criminal
(tr; usually passive) to persecute; hound
(intr) (of a gauge indicator, engine speed, etc) to oscillate about a mean value or position
(intr) (of an aircraft, rocket, etc) to oscillate about a flight path
the act or an instance of hunting
chase or search, esp of animals or game
the area of a hunt
a party or institution organized for the pursuit of wild animals or game, esp for sport
the participants in or members of such a party or institution
informal having a chance of success See also hunt down hunt up
that result keeps us in the hunt
Henry , known as Orator Hunt . 1773–1835, British radical, who led the mass meeting that ended in the Peterloo Massacre (1819)
( William ) Holman. 1827–1910, British painter; a founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (1848)
James. 1947–93, British motor-racing driver: world champion 1976
( Henry Cecil ) John , Baron. 1910–98, British army officer and mountaineer. He planned and led the expedition that first climbed Mount Everest (1953)
( 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
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
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."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Attorneys for workers are also trying to understand what AI means for the job hunt, said Ben Lebsack, president of the National Employment Lawyers Association.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
On Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon and the DOJ are standing up a joint task force to hunt down and prosecute government leakers.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
Humans have earned a reputation as "super-predators" because they hunt, trap, and fish on a scale unmatched by other predators.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
The law defines "take" to mean "harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct."
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
In the fourth generation, the hunt begins—and ends.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
According to Oseman, Locke and Connor were also heavily involved in selecting a new intimacy coordinator, Robbie Taylor Hunt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Hunt rose 6.4% to $294.00 in after-hours trading.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
CNN anchor Kasie Hunt pressed Scott Jennings, the senator’s fellow Kentuckian and a GOP pundit for the network, to call him while they were on the air.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
"Graham Platner was never the movement. He was just a mouthpiece," Hunt said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
Over the next few days, Liddy and Hunt prepared a proposal for a visit to Fielding’s apartment.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
In the meantime, the AI gowns and Easter-egg hunts will have to suffice.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 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
Louis XIV staged lavish hunts at Versailles—which itself had started as a modest hunting lodge—complete with courtesans, orchestras and elaborate carriages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
We drove on, and Dantzler told stories of dove hunts in the grove, of outsize characters of the old citrus elite.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
"Ghost should be back by dawn. He hunts at night."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Aang befriended Zuko, an exiled Fire Nation prince who at first hunted Aang to regain his father’s approval before joining his quarry’s mission to restore peace.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
The quartet hunted as a pack, with the awkward O'Rourke impressive.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
Staff who previously hunted for iconoclastic founders with promising startups were sent to find AI data-center sites, the energy needed to power them and the chips to run them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
A broken-bat grounder to the right side of the infield, hunted down by Freeman ranging to his backhand side from first base, ended the inning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
In what little free time they had, they fished and hunted, quilted and kept chickens, tended their gardens, and had children who played with simple toys such as marbles or animals roughly carved from wood.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
"This is what we will do from tomorrow. We will not stop chasing. We will not stop hunting, we will not stop challenging."
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
"It's important to make clear many of the threats facing modern koala populations are caused by humans, which includes habitat loss and hunting."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
As he seeks her in the present day, he is tasked with hunting wicked supernatural creatures for the Afterlife Immigration Office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Animals consistently show fear when people pose a direct lethal threat, such as through hunting or fishing.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
“Perhaps it has to do with his hunting habit, for those would be the brightest nights to go out to the forest—time to stand up, children! This is our stop.”
From "The Hidden Gallery" 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.
