hunt

¹

[huhnt]

verb (used with object)

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

   Synonyms: track, pursue

2. to pursue with force, hostility, etc., in order to capture (often followed bydown ).

   They hunted him down and hanged him.

3. to search for; seek; endeavor to obtain or find (often followed by up orout ).

   to hunt up the most promising candidates for the position.

4. to search (a place) thoroughly.

5. to scour (an area) in pursuit of game.

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

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

verb (used without object)

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

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

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

noun

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

2. a search; a seeking or endeavor to find.

3. a pursuit.

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

5. an area hunted over.

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

Hunt

²

[huhnt]

noun

1. (James Henry) Leigh 1784–1859, English essayist, poet, and editor.

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

3. (William) Holman 1827–1910, English painter.

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

hunt

¹

/ hʌnt /

verb

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

2. to look (for); search (for)

   to hunt for a book

   to hunt up a friend

3. (tr) to use (hounds, horses, etc) in the pursuit of wild animals, game, etc

   to hunt a pack of hounds

4. (tr) to search or draw (country) to hunt wild animals, game, etc

   to hunt the parkland

5. to track or chase diligently, esp so as to capture

   to hunt down a criminal

6. (tr; usually passive) to persecute; hound

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

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

noun

1. the act or an instance of hunting

2. chase or search, esp of animals or game

3. the area of a hunt

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

5. the participants in or members of such a party or institution

6. informal,  having a chance of success See also hunt down hunt up

   that result keeps us in the hunt

Hunt

²

/ hʌnt /

noun

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

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

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

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

5. ( 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

Other Word Forms

• huntedly adverb
• huntable adjective
• outhunt verb (used with object)
• overhunt verb (used with object)
• unhuntable adjective
• unhunted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hunt¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of hunt¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

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

Example Sentences

Top pros need to spend 11 months of the year on a constant hunt for ranking points and prize money, which they say leaves them without adequate time to recover and at risk of injury.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

On Thursday, Mr De Wet told Polokwane High Court that he and Mr Olivier, 60, armed themselves with hunting rifles and waited for trespassers to enter the farm on the night of 17 August 2024.

Read more on BBC

Casting directors are on the lookout for real people who will let hosts, cameramen and crew with a boatload of TV equipment tag along for the ride during a renovation or house hunt.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Still, Nakamura has no choice but to keep hunting for games before the year is out.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The only thing NBA teams spend more time doing than playing basketball games is hunting for unicorns.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• exploration 
• hunting 
• inquiry 
• interrogation 
• investigation 
• probe 
• prosecution 
• pursuit 
• quest 
• race 
• raid