hide-and-seek

American  

[hahyd-n-seek] / ˈhaɪd nˈsik /

noun

1. one of a variety of children's games in which, according to specified rules, one player gives the others a chance to hide and then attempts to find them.

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hide-and-seek British  

noun

1. a game in which one player covers his eyes and waits while the others hide, and then he tries to find them

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hide and seek Idioms  

1. see play hide and seek.

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Etymology

Origin of hide-and-seek

First recorded in 1665–75

Example Sentences

With $9.1 million, fourth place went to Searchlight's "Ready or Not 2," a follow-up to the 2019 original comedy horror in which a bride must survive a deadly game of hide-and-seek with her new in-laws.

From Barron's • Mar. 22, 2026

In 2019, the wickedly fun horror-comedy “Ready or Not” made hide-and-seek into a terrifying encounter with the occult — and made its star, Samara Weaving, the scream queen du jour.

From Salon • Jan. 4, 2026

Looking for a black hole is like playing hide-and-seek in pitch darkness.

From Space Scoop • Mar. 27, 2025

Brian grew up playing baseball, hide-and-seek and kickball with nearly a dozen neighbor kids — staying outdoors until it grew dark under the watchful eye of a rotating cast of parents.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 24, 2025

I followed him downstairs, through long corridors where some kind of game of hide-and-seek was going on.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin