manhunt
Americannoun
-
manhunts
plural
-
an intensive search for a criminal, suspect, escaped convict, etc., as by law enforcement agencies.
-
an intensive search for any person.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of manhunt
Explanation
When police assemble a team to search for a criminal, it's called a manhunt, even if the person they're looking for is a woman. After an armed bank robbery or a prison escape is reported, the local police department sometimes launches a manhunt to search for the perpetrator. The crime that's been committed has to be fairly serious to result in a manhunt, because it requires extra officers. In some cases, the FBI might even get involved in a manhunt.
Vocabulary lists containing manhunt
Workshop 4, Part 1
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for December 8–December 14, 2024
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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:
He was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9 following a tip from staff at a McDonald's restaurant, after a days-long manhunt.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
After a frantic dayslong manhunt, he was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Penn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Her death sparked a manhunt, which culminated in the arrest of a 28-year-old white British man in Rotherham, South Yorkshire at around 21:00 on Saturday.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
As a police investigation and manhunt continues - and amid the tributes and grief - there is also whispered concern that a perpetrator could still be at large.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
While Lincoln still lived, the manhunt was already under way.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
Hundreds of police have pursued Freeman through the region's rugged terrain over the past seven months, pouring resources into one of Australia's largest manhunts.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
The bureau spared no resources in finding the culprit, using powerful digital tools that produced a sea of information so detailed that it surprised even longtime investigators who were no strangers to complicated manhunts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 14, 2025
Despite those efforts, and years of manhunts, he remains a fugitive.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2025
Despite manhunts and U.S. and Colombian reward offers topping $5 million in total, Úsuga long evaded capture, partly by rotating through a network of rural safe houses.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 7, 2023
What good did it do to know that the Lhari council in another galaxy would have condemned the murders and manhunts, when they were going on in this one, day after day?
From The Colors of Space by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
