hunt

[ huhnt ]

/ hʌnt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hunt ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to chase or search for (game or other wild animals) for the purpose of catching or killing.

to pursue with force, hostility, etc., in order to capture (often followed by down): They hunted him down and hanged him.

to search for; seek; endeavor to obtain or find (often followed by up or out): to hunt up the most promising candidates for the position.

to search (a place) thoroughly.

to scour (an area) in pursuit of game.

to use or direct (a horse, hound, etc.) in chasing game.

Change Ringing. to alter the place of (a bell) in a hunt.

verb (used without object)

to engage in the pursuit, capture, or killing of wild animals for food or in sport.

to make a search or quest (often followed by for or after).

Change Ringing. to alter the place of a bell in its set according to certain rules.

noun

an act or practice of hunting game or other wild animals.

a search; a seeking or endeavor to find.

a pursuit.

a group of persons associated for the purpose of hunting; an association of hunters.

an area hunted over.

Change Ringing. a regularly varying order of permutations in the ringing of a group of from five to twelve bells.

Nearby words

hunky, hunky-dory, hunner's ulcer, hunnish, huns, hunt, hunt and peck, hunt board, hunt button, hunt down, hunt the slipper

Origin of hunt

before 1000; (v.) Middle English hunten, Old English huntian, derivative of hunta hunter, akin to hentan to pursue; (noun) Middle English, derivative of the v.

SYNONYMS FOR hunt

1 pursue, track.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hunt ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

hunt·a·ble, adjectivehunt·ed·ly, adverbout·hunt, verb (used with object)o·ver·hunt, verb (used with object)

un·hunt·a·ble, adjectiveun·hunt·ed, adjective

Definition for hunt (2 of 2)

Hunt

[ huhnt ]

/ hʌnt /

noun

(James Henry) Leigh

[lee] /li/, 1784–1859, English essayist, poet, and editor.

Richard Morris,1828–95, U.S. architect.

(William) Holman

[hohl-muh n] /ˈhoʊl mən/, 1827–1910, English painter.

William Morris,1824–79, U.S. painter (brother of Richard Morris Hunt).

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hunt

The Federal Duck Stamp Act raised the fee on stamps needed to hunt waterfowl on federal land from $15 to $25.
Nazis, Sunscreen, and Sea Gull Eggs: Congress in 2014 Was Hella Productive|Ben Jacobs|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Jordanian intelligence played an important role in the hunt that eventually killed Zarqawi in Iraq in 2006.
Did ISIS Shoot Down a Fighter Jet?|Jamie Dettmer, Christopher Dickey|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A team of cops swarmed the apartment in the hunt for a potential homicide suspect they believed was hiding in the residences.
Worse Than Eric Garner: Cops Who Got Away With Killing Autistic Men and Little Girls|Emily Shire|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They will also oppose any attempts to hunt grizzlies in their recognized ancestral homelands.
What It Takes to Kill a Grizzly Bear|Doug Peacock|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Of course, Hunt is far from alone in the destruction of his fortune.
The Zillionaires Who Lost Everything|Tom Sykes|October 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hunt had often thought since that Joe Hurley was quite attracted by his lively sister.
The Heart of Canyon Pass|Thomas K. Holmes
“But you never did tell me if you are going to hunt up your family,” insisted Jane.
The Camp Fire Girls on a Yacht|Margaret Love Sanderson
It is admirable for young men who shoot, hunt, drink,—but for us!
Gouverneur Morris|Theodore Roosevelt
Of course, I don't know a thing about the trees, but I could hunt for the marks.
Freckles|Gene Stratton-Porter
As winter advanced the Indians were obliged to desist from war and go into the forest in small companies to hunt.
Four American Indians|Edson L. Whitney

British Dictionary definitions for hunt (1 of 2)

hunt

/ (hʌnt) /

verb

to seek out and kill or capture (game or wild animals) for food or sport

(intr often foll by for) to look (for); search (for)to hunt for a book; to hunt up a friend

(tr) to use (hounds, horses, etc) in the pursuit of wild animals, game, etcto hunt a pack of hounds

(tr) to search or draw (country) to hunt wild animals, game, etcto hunt the parkland

(tr often foll by down) to track or chase diligently, esp so as to captureto hunt down a criminal

(tr; usually passive) to persecute; hound

(intr) (of a gauge indicator, engine speed, etc) to oscillate about a mean value or position

(intr) (of an aircraft, rocket, etc) to oscillate about a flight path

noun

the act or an instance of hunting

chase or search, esp of animals or game

the area of a hunt

a party or institution organized for the pursuit of wild animals or game, esp for sport

the participants in or members of such a party or institution

in the hunt informal having a chance of successthat result keeps us in the hunt See also hunt down, hunt up

Derived Forms

huntedly, adverb

Word Origin for hunt

Old English huntian; related to Old English hentan, Old Norse henda to grasp

British Dictionary definitions for hunt (2 of 2)

Hunt

/ (hʌnt) /

noun

Henry, known as Orator Hunt . 1773–1835, British radical, who led the mass meeting that ended in the Peterloo Massacre (1819)

(William) Holman. 1827–1910, British painter; a founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (1848)

James. 1947–93, British motor-racing driver: world champion 1976

(Henry Cecil) John, Baron. 1910–98, British army officer and mountaineer. He planned and led the expedition that first climbed Mount Everest (1953)

(James Henry) Leigh (liː). 1784–1859, British poet and essayist: a founder of The Examiner (1808) in which he promoted the work of Keats and Shelley

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

Idioms and Phrases with hunt

hunt

see happy hunting ground; high and low, (hunt); run with (the hare, hunt with the hounds).