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.
Stratford uses a haunting metaphor for this moment, comparing the current interaction between the two nations to “traveling together through a long, dark tunnel.”
He ducked beneath the low canopy of Brigatta, who sang a haunting song whenever the wind picked up.
From Literature
A concern haunting investors is that Apple appears to be easing into generative AI while rivals Google, Microsoft and OpenAI race ahead.
From Barron's
The summer of 1886 found the artist in Honfleur, whose historic character and cobbled streets had long made it a haunt for painters, including the Impressionists, and tourists.
But history is the unseen guest at every table; the country remains haunted by the memory of the hyperinflation that devastated the economy in the 1920s and helped propel the Nazis to power.
From BBC
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.
