haunt
Americanverb (used with object)
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to visit habitually or appear to frequently as a spirit or ghost.
to haunt a house; to haunt a person.
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to recur persistently to the consciousness of; remain with.
Memories of love haunted him.
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to visit frequently; go to often.
He haunted the galleries and bars that the artists went to.
- Synonyms:
- frequent
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to frequent the company of; be often with.
He haunted famous men, hoping to gain celebrity for himself.
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to disturb or distress; cause to have anxiety; trouble; worry.
His youthful escapades came back to haunt him.
verb (used without object)
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to reappear continually as a spirit or ghost.
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to visit habitually or regularly.
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to remain persistently; loiter; stay; linger.
noun
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Often haunts. a place frequently visited.
to return to one's old haunts.
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Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. and North England. a ghost.
verb
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to visit (a person or place) in the form of a ghost
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(tr) to intrude upon or recur to (the memory, thoughts, etc)
he was haunted by the fear of insanity
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to visit (a place) frequently
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to associate with (someone) frequently
noun
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(often plural) a place visited frequently
an old haunt of hers
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a place to which animals habitually resort for food, drink, shelter, etc
Other Word Forms
- haunter noun
Etymology
Origin of haunt
1200–50; Middle English haunten < Old French hanter to frequent, probably < Old Norse heimta to lead home, derivative of heim homewards; home
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.
The deadly fire which ripped through a bar in Crans-Montana still haunted minds in the Swiss ski resort on Sunday, a month on from the tragedy.
From Barron's
She’d been haunted at night by the idea that someone else might buy it before she had enough.
From Literature
“Used to be a rich family’s country home, absurdly large and showy. Kind of like a very polite haunted house. Stop asking questions.”
From Literature
The Miami Heat guard’s knee injury suffered in 2023 when he slipped off the side of the Cleveland Cavaliers court haunted Doncic while he winced in pain near the Lakers bench.
From Los Angeles Times
Jazz haunts with debts owed to its creators, and has a knack for revivals, collectives, new venues in the old forms, and stalwart clubs revivified by benefactors and grant funding.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
