hunt
verb (used with object)
to chase or search for (game or other wild animals) for the purpose of catching or killing.
hunt
1 American
[huhnt]
/ hʌnt /
verb (used with object)
-
hunts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hunted,
past participle, past
-
hunting
present participle
-
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 bydown ).
They hunted him down and hanged him.
-
to search for; seek; endeavor to obtain or find (often followed by up orout ).
to hunt up the most promising candidates for the position.
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to search (a place) thoroughly.
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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)
-
hunts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hunted,
past participle, past
-
hunting
present participle
-
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 orafter ).
-
Change Ringing. to alter the place of a bell in its set according to certain rules.
noun
-
hunts
plural
-
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.
Hunt
2
American
[huhnt]
/ hʌnt /
noun
-
(James Henry) Leigh 1784–1859, English essayist, poet, and editor.
-
Richard Morris, 1828–95, U.S. architect.
-
(William) Holman 1827–1910, English painter.
-
William Morris, 1824–79, U.S. painter (brother of Richard Morris Hunt).
hunt
1
British
/ hʌnt /
verb
-
to seek out and kill or capture (game or wild animals) for food or sport
-
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, etc
to hunt a pack of hounds
-
(tr) to search or draw (country) to hunt wild animals, game, etc
to hunt the parkland
-
to track or chase diligently, esp so as to capture
to hunt down a criminal
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(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
-
informal having a chance of success See also hunt down hunt up
that result keeps us in the hunt
Hunt
2
British
/ 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
hunt
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
outhuntverb (used with object)
-
overhuntverb (used with object)
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huntableadjective
-
unhuntableadjective
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unhuntedadjective
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huntedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
huntsimple
-
huntssimple
-
have huntedperfect
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has huntedperfect
-
am huntingprogressive
-
are huntingprogressive
-
is huntingprogressive
-
have been huntingperfect progressive
-
has been huntingperfect progressive
Past
-
huntedsimple
-
had huntedperfect
-
was huntingprogressive
-
were huntingprogressive
-
had been huntingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hunt
First recorded before 1000; (for the verb) Middle English hunten, Old English huntian, derivative of hunta “hunter,” akin to hentan “to pursue”; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
To hunt is to track and kill an animal for fun or food. In Italy, they use pigs to hunt truffles. In the US, they use shotguns to hunt deer. Some humans hunt animals with a gun or a bow and arrow, and some animals hunt smaller animals — the way a wolf hunts rabbits or a cat hunts birds. You can hunt in a non-lethal way as well, like when you hunt all over your house for your lost car keys, or your little brother hunts for you during a game of hide-and-seek. The Old English root of hunt is huntian, "chase game."
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.
See Examples For:
Companies of all sizes have been on the hunt to acquire more refineries to build bigger fuel-making businesses, given the almost intractable constraints in global capacity, other people familiar with the matter said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
“If you violate federal election law,” he warned, “I will hunt you down and prosecute you.”
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2026
Archaeologists believe they were probably used to hunt large animals.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
"They were amazing, they took us under their wings, they showed us how they survive, how they hunt, how they gather," Dykes said.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
“It’s just that this went from the worst Easter egg hunt ever to the weirdest Halloween group I’ve ever seen.”
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt, the creative geniuses behind “Ted Lasso,” declined to be interviewed for this story, as did everyone involved with the series.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
Berry’s fiancé, Van Hunt, and her attorneys also filed declarations vouching for the “Monster’s Ball” actor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
He tried to find areas of compromise with Ms. Hunt, a member of the faculty at the University of Dallas, a Catholic institution.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
The McLaren of James Hunt is tipped into the air as it collides with the Brabham of John Watson at the start of the 1977 race at Long Beach.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
Howard Hunt had his wife call the Watergate Hotel to rent a banquet room for the night of May 26.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
"We needed rain in July or August," he said of the spots where he usually hunts -- the precise location of which he keeps a closely guarded secret even from his wife.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
The archdeacon was said to have replied: "We don't conduct witch hunts in the Sheffield diocese."
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
The steps that had to be followed to find a party or rave added to the fun, turning these events into adrenaline-pumping scavenger hunts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Many job hunts can erode a person’s patience.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026
I keep thinking of other pairs completing their treasure hunts and getting their invitations to the finale while we bake in this hot room.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
Fifty years ago, the teenage Vance was sent to Vietnam and hunted down Viet Cong forces in the Mekong Delta.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
The evacuees whom AFP met in northern Ukraine on Saturday said that they had to eat grass to survive, and that some had hunted dogs.
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2026
It hunted in the water, using teeth with backward-curving cusps to grip slippery prey.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
Glover connected that idea to Aboriginal traditions in which women historically cared for the fire while men hunted.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
I hunted around in the shed behind the inn and found a sort of mattock, and went down toward the stream to try and dig some worms for bait.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
In Piedmont, Esposito said he hoped his tradition would continue and spoke of the "emotion" of truffle hunting.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
Target, Barclays, Bausch and Lomb and American Express have all posted FDE listings in recent months, hunting for people who can turn “ambiguous goals into production agentic systems.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
The Jillaroos, hunting a fourth successive title, ran in 21 tries in a predictably lopsided contest in Sydney.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
The discovery raises a difficult question: Was Shanidar A the victim of a deliberate attack, or did a hunting accident cause the fatal injury?
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
The hunting license had a name: an ISDA.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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