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
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.
In its original incarnation, it featured Rahma hailing a yellow cab and instructing the driver to take him to a favorite local haunt.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
There wasn’t one misstep or a single failure that led to the tragedy that will forever haunt Frank Perez.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026
In a statement read to the court, she described how "what happened will haunt me for the rest of my life".
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026
Of course, this can come back to haunt us at any time, but the stock’s reaction speaks volumes.
From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026
“Then my spirit will haunt you when I join the ancestors.”
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
