haunt

[ hawnt, hahnt; for 10 also hant ]

/ hɔnt, hɑnt; for 10 also hænt /

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See synonyms for: haunt / haunted / haunting / haunter on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

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.

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)

to reappear continually as a spirit or ghost.

to visit habitually or regularly.

to remain persistently; loiter; stay; linger.

noun

Often haunts. a place frequently visited: to return to one's old haunts.

Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. and North England. a ghost.

OTHER WORDS FOR haunt

3 frequent.

5 obsess, beset, vex, plague.

See synonyms for haunt on Thesaurus.com

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM haunt

haunter, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use haunt in a sentence

That room—the cold, the purple light, the demonic transformations: it really haunts you.
Scorsese’s Scariest Movies of All Time|Martin Scorsese|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The specter of wrongful convictions haunts the public officials involved.
The Myth of the Central Park Five|Edward Conlon|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If the taste of chlorine haunts you, filters might help out.
Are Water Filters B.S.?|Michael Schulson|August 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To him, this is just another of the many haunts he has assimilated into his personal version of Detroit.
Can Hollywood Rejuvenate Detroit and America’s Bankrupt Cities?|David Levesley|May 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Such travesty haunts the collective imagination, reflecting myth, history and politics.
Crime Fighter’s Dilemma: My Country or My Family?|Moral Courage|April 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That girl—that girl with her pale face and her pale hair, and eyes the grey of a storm cloud before it breaks, she haunts him!
Uncanny Tales|Various
I wont shed blood; its always found out, and haunts a man besides.
Oliver Twist, Vol. II (of 3)|Charles Dickens
Porter had escaped, and was soon back in his old haunts, gathering together as many of his followers as possible.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
Soon the winter will come, with all the boys back from their country haunts, and Céleste and Mimi from Ostende.
The Real Latin Quarter|F. Berkeley Smith
The place to which Edwards and Livingstone had gone was a large native town near to the haunts of lions.
Robert Moffat|David J. Deane

British Dictionary definitions for haunt

haunt

/ (hɔːnt) /

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 frequentlyan old haunt of hers

a place to which animals habitually resort for food, drink, shelter, etc

Derived forms of haunt

haunter, noun

Word Origin for haunt

C13: from Old French hanter, of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse heimta to bring home, Old English hāmettan to give a home to; see home

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

haunt

OTHER WORDS FOR haunt

Origin of haunt

OTHER WORDS FROM haunt

Words related to haunt

How to use haunt in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for haunt

Derived forms of haunt

Word Origin for haunt