quest
Americannoun
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quests
plural
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a search or pursuit made in order to find or obtain something.
a quest for uranium mines;
a quest for knowledge.
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Classical and Medieval Legend. an adventurous expedition undertaken by a knight or knights to secure or achieve something.
the quest of the Holy Grail.
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those engaged in such an expedition.
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British Dialect. inquest.
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Obsolete. a jury of inquest.
verb (used without object)
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quests,
present (3rd person singular)
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quested,
past participle, past
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questing
present participle
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to search; seek (often followed by for orafter ).
to quest after hidden treasure.
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to go on a quest.
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Hunting. (of a dog)
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to search for game.
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to bay or give tongue in pursuit of game.
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verb (used with object)
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quests,
present (3rd person singular)
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quested,
past participle, past
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questing
present participle
noun
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the act or an instance of looking for or seeking; search
a quest for diamonds
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(in medieval romance) an expedition by a knight or company of knights to accomplish some prescribed task, such as finding the Holy Grail
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the object of a search; goal or target
my quest is the treasure of the king
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rare a collection of alms
verb
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to go in search (of)
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to go on a quest
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to search for game
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to bay when in pursuit of game
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rare to collect alms
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archaic (also tr) to go in search of (a thing); seek or pursue
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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questsimple
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questssimple
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have questedperfect
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has questedperfect
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am questingprogressive
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are questingprogressive
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is questingprogressive
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have been questingperfect progressive
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has been questingperfect progressive
Past
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questedsimple
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had questedperfect
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was questingprogressive
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were questingprogressive
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had been questingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of quest
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English noun queste, from Old French, from Latin quaesīta, feminine past participle of quaerere “to seek”; Middle English verb derivative of the noun
Explanation
A quest is all about seeking something important, and it often involves a journey. You would travel the world in a quest for gold. You would not travel to the front of the lunchroom in a quest for tater tots. Knights in the Middle Ages were forever taking on quests––most famously to find the Holy Grail. In modern times, you can quest without ever leaving home, thanks to the Internet. A scientist might embark on a quest to find the cure for cancer. A detective might quest for the truth.
Vocabulary lists containing quest
Vocabulary from the Introduction to "Reality is Broken" by Jane McGonigal
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Freak the Mighty
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"What Is the Horror Genre?" Vocabulary from the literary criticism
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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:
“Justice exists only when the quest for truth never ends,” Spitzer said in a statement Friday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
This idea became more widespread on Aug. 2, when the Dodgers acquired ace lefthander Tarik Skubal to contribute to the team’s quest for a third strait World Series title.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
"With these future data on hand and our updated simulations, we may finally be able to complete the quest started by Heisenberg nearly 90 years ago."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026
The victory at the Xfinity Mobile Arena ended Machado Garry's quest to become the first Irish champion in the UFC since Conor McGregor.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Despite all the obstacles still in their way, the thought of the quest ending gave him a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
Bloom Energy has indeed ridden on the coattails of AI excitement and investors’ quests for companies positioned to benefit from powering data centers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Earlier this month, we put together a collection of side quests around the desert.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
Third, cutting side quests is a bad idea.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026
It also follows reports that OpenAI's applications chief, Fidji Simo, told staff this month that they could not be distracted by "side quests," outlining a push toward agentic AI capabilities.
From Barron's ● Mar. 24, 2026
“Nice try, Percy. But I’m not Ares. You can’t bait me. My lord is waiting, and he’s got plenty of quests for me to undertake.”
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
But the University of Liverpool academic tells Radio 1 Newsbeat that's "possible but highly improbable", as anyone who's quested for that final, obscure sticker will know.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2022
As for Bimini, it’s the name of a Bahamian island chain and the supposed site of the mythic Fountain of Youth quested after by Ponce de Leon, the early 16th century Spanish explorer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2021
A few days ago in a galaxy not so far away, an estimated 65,000 “Star Wars” fans from across the globe quested their way to the biggest convention center in the United States.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2019
Don’t call me evil—or “toxic”—because I’ve never quested after the liquid sublime.
From Slate ● Nov. 20, 2013
They set off again, the hunters bunched a little by fear of the mentioned beast, while Jack quested ahead.
From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
The Irish Times describes it as a "an endearingly honest, questing record about friendship, faith, art, meaning and, appropriately for Easter, death and the possibility of rebirth".
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026
There he encountered climbers questing to conquer the Seven Summits—the highest mountain peaks on each continent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
A long-time proponent of independence for his Flemish-speaking region, he would be loath to relinquish the post of prime minister after years of questing for the top job.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2025
The more elaborate the setup, the more active the crabs become, climbing, crawling, and exploring with their endlessly questing antennae.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2025
"That's the one," said the little hairy man, his head questing from side to side as if he were preoccupied, or a little nervous.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
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.
