First recorded in 1665–75
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Party president Mary Lou McDonald has previously indicated she would support a ban, and said the vote on fox hunting demonstrated how members are the ones who set policy.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
The Parliament Act was last used in 2004 to push through a ban on fox hunting.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2025
Trail hunting - a practice where a scent is laid out for the hunt to follow - was introduced as a "cruelty free" replacement for fox hunting, banned by Labour in 2004.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2024
"Farmers get a lot of stick, with some believing that the life of a farmer is all about driving four-wheel drives, going shooting every other day and fox hunting," he added.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2024
They laughed when Obinze said, “I don’t understand why fox hunting is such a big issue in this country. Aren’t there more important things?”
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A keen-animal lover, she was also one of the few Conservative MPs who opposed fox-hunting.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
The whips - a term with its roots in fox-hunting that dates back to 1742 - are widely known to use threats and sometimes offers of promotion to get lawmakers to support the party line.
From Reuters ● Jan. 20, 2022
All through law school, I thought that Nancy Boxley from Virginia was in the fox-hunting crowd.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2020
The manifesto was so cautious it even contained promises not to do things, such as a pledge not to bring back fox-hunting.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 13, 2019
It was nothing like badger-digging or covert-shooting or fox-hunting today.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
