hound

¹ American  

[hound] / haʊnd /

noun

1. one of any of several breeds of dogs trained to pursue game either by sight or by scent, especially one with a long face and large drooping ears.

2. Informal. any dog.

3. Slang.

   1. an unpleasant, mean, or despicable person.

   2. a man who chases women; a promiscuous man.

4. Informal. an ardent fan or devotee.

   an autograph hound.

5. one of the pursuers in the game of hare and hounds.

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verb (used with object)

1. to hunt or track with hounds, or as a hound does; pursue.

   Synonyms:

   tail, trail, chase, follow, dog

2. to pursue or harass without respite.

   Her little brother wouldn't stop hounding her.

   Synonyms:

   bully, persecute, annoy, pester

3. to incite (a hound) to pursuit or attack; urge on.

4. Informal. to incite or urge (a person) to do something (often followed byon ).

   The committee has been hounded on by those who want these repairs done immediately.

idioms

1. ride to hounds, to participate in a hunt, whether as a member of the field or of the hunt staff.

2. follow the hounds, to participate in a hunt, especially as a member of the field.

hound ² American  

[hound] / haʊnd /

noun

1. Nautical. either of a pair of fore-and-aft members at the lower end of the head of a mast, for supporting the trestletrees, that support an upper mast at its heel.

2. a horizontal bar or brace, usually one of a pair, for strengthening the running gear of a horse-drawn wagon or the like.

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hound ¹ British  

/ haʊnd /

noun

1. 1. any of several breeds of dog used for hunting

   2. ( in combination )

      an otterhound

      a deerhound

2. a pack of foxhounds, etc

3. a dog, esp one regarded as annoying

4. a despicable person

5. (in hare and hounds) a runner who pursues a hare

6. slang an enthusiast

   an autograph hound

7. short for houndfish See also nursehound

8. to take part in a fox hunt with hounds

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verb

1. to pursue or chase relentlessly

2. to urge on

hound ² British  

/ haʊnd /

noun

1. either of a pair of horizontal bars that reinforce the running gear of a horse-drawn vehicle

2. nautical either of a pair of fore-and-aft braces that serve as supports for a topmast

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hound More Idioms  

1. see run with (the hare, hunt with the hounds).

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Other Word Forms

• hounder
  noun
• houndish
  adjective
• houndlike
  adjective
• houndy
  adjective
• unhounded
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of hound¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English h(o)und, Old English hund; cognate with Dutch hond, Old Norse hundr, Danish, Swedish hund, German Hund, Gothic hunds; akin to Latin canis, Greek kýōn (genitive kynós ), Sanskrit śván (genitive śunas ), Old Irish cú (genitive con ), Welsh ci (plural cwn ), Tocharian A kū, Lithuanian šuõ

Origin of hound²

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English houn(e), hune, from Old Norse hūnn “knob at the top of a masthead”

Explanation

A hound is a type of dog with big floppy ears, mainly used for hunting. To hound someone is to relentlessly pursue or pester them. When Elvis sings, “You ain’t nothing but a hound dog,” he’s referring to both. Hounds are dogs that have traditionally been used for hunting because they are excellent at tracking. Most hounds (like beagles and dachshunds) have drooping, floppy ears. Hounds can also be big and scary like the one Sherlock Holmes investigates in The Hound of the Baskervilles. If people hound, they hunt, too, but just in an annoying way. A man can hound a woman by asking for a date 10 times. A hounding person is persistent and probably annoying.

Example Sentences

It’s small wonder fiction’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes, faced the savage Hound of the Baskervilles amid the nocturnal mists of a mire.

From National Geographic • Feb. 16, 2024

He was know for hits including Hound Dog and Suspicious Minds and would have celebrated his 89th birthday on 8 January.

From BBC • Jan. 8, 2024

She was then a teenage student, in the PNB School’s Professional Division, dancing the roles of Hound and Epilogue Fairy when the company went on tour to Istanbul and Hong Kong in 1999.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 6, 2023

Over the years, though, Green, 35, has become more interested in how the dog — a character from his comic series “Gunshow,” known as Question Hound — might find a happier ending.

From Washington Post • Jan. 17, 2023

Occasionally one would angrily point or look in the direction of Conor Hound.

From "The Missing Mitt (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #2)" by Franklin W. Dixon

Related Words

• annoy
• bother
• goad
• harass
• heckle
• hector
• persecute
• pester
• pursue