haunt
Americanverb (used with object)
-
haunts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
haunted,
past participle, past
-
haunting
present participle
-
to visit habitually or appear to frequently as a spirit or ghost.
to haunt a house; to haunt a person.
-
to recur persistently to the consciousness of; remain with.
Memories of love haunted him.
-
to visit frequently; go to often.
He haunted the galleries and bars that the artists went to.
- Synonyms:
- frequent
-
to frequent the company of; be often with.
He haunted famous men, hoping to gain celebrity for himself.
-
to disturb or distress; cause to have anxiety; trouble; worry.
His youthful escapades came back to haunt him.
verb (used without object)
-
haunts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
haunted,
past participle, past
-
haunting
present participle
-
to reappear continually as a spirit or ghost.
-
to visit habitually or regularly.
-
to remain persistently; loiter; stay; linger.
noun
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haunts
plural
-
Often haunts. a place frequently visited.
to return to one's old haunts.
-
Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. and North England. a ghost.
verb
-
to visit (a person or place) in the form of a ghost
-
(tr) to intrude upon or recur to (the memory, thoughts, etc)
he was haunted by the fear of insanity
-
to visit (a place) frequently
-
to associate with (someone) frequently
noun
-
(often plural) a place visited frequently
an old haunt of hers
-
a place to which animals habitually resort for food, drink, shelter, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hauntsimple
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hauntssimple
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have hauntedperfect
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has hauntedperfect
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am hauntingprogressive
-
are hauntingprogressive
-
is hauntingprogressive
-
have been hauntingperfect progressive
-
has been hauntingperfect progressive
Past
-
hauntedsimple
-
had hauntedperfect
-
was hauntingprogressive
-
were hauntingprogressive
-
had been hauntingperfect progressive
Future
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; see home
Explanation
The verb to haunt means to appear as a ghost or some kind of supernatural phenomenon. Ebenezer Scrooge was haunted by the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Future. The first recorded usage of the word haunt is in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a play filled with supernatural characters running around scaring the knickers off each other. As Shakespeare knew, haunting is at its most effective in the passive voice, because there is much more drama in being haunted than haunting. Another use of the word haunt is as a noun, and it means "a place that is frequented often," like a popular hangout. The gym, a bar, a corner: these are all potential haunts. The dentist, the principal’s office, a busy intersection: these are not.
Vocabulary lists containing haunt
The Grim Reader: Wicked Words of Grave Importance for Halloween
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"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act I
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Uncanny, Creepy, or Downright Scary: Words For Halloween
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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:
It’s a blazingly hot October afternoon at the Sunset Marquis in West Hollywood, the storied rock-star haunt where suntanned guests are lounging around the pool and being seen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
The forward line did not click against Leeds and, with Havertz looking like he lacked match sharpness, thoughts turned towards whether Arsenal missing out on an elite attacker in the summer would haunt them.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
The charges, thrown out on procedural grounds, have continued to haunt him.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
Stocks have withstood surging yields before—though their especially poor performance just four years ago continues to haunt investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
Buried underground or burned into ash, they couldn’t do anything but haunt the memories of the people who had loved them.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
Like “The Rehearsal,” the question of fact haunts these recreations.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
The ghost of Tip O’Neill haunts the 2026 election.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
So when Flowers moved back home and started revisiting his childhood haunts, his passion for country was rekindled.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Many of the city's old storied haunts are closed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
“The shadow of our dark time still haunts us.”
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Carrara and his wife are Halloween devotees who frequent haunted houses and horror-themed bars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
From the moment Ryua first walked into her rental apartment in Tokyo she believed it to be haunted.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
"He's haunted by the past," added Mirren, an evolution of character which adds "great color" to the story.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
But each fall, he transforms into the Captain — the undead host of festivities at the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, a haunted attraction held in Long Beach during the Halloween season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
Mother Fox later insisted she was “not a believer in haunted houses or supernatural Appearances.”
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
A specter is haunting Europe, and plenty of other places too.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026
In his haunting comeback episode, a man in a "Daft Monk" Halloween costume - a play on music duo Daft Punk - appears to be accidentally killed over and over again by Springfield residents.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
But there are also haunting clues that the catatonic wife down the hall isn’t as helpless as she looks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Yet the image of the male Viking warrior stubbornly lingers, drawing crowds while also haunting the galleries like a restless specter.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
It was weird—and scary—seeing Brer Fox’s mouth move but hearing the haunting voice of the ship.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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