quest

[ kwest ]

/ kwɛst /

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See synonyms for: quest / quested / questing / quests on Thesaurus.com

noun

a search or pursuit made in order to find or obtain something: a quest for uranium mines;a quest for knowledge.

Classical and Medieval Legend. an adventurous expedition undertaken by a knight or knights to secure or achieve something: the quest of the Holy Grail.

those engaged in such an expedition.

British Dialect. inquest.

Obsolete. a jury of inquest.

verb (used without object)

to search; seek (often followed by for or after): to quest after hidden treasure.

to go on a quest.

Hunting. (of a dog)

to search for game.
to bay or give tongue in pursuit of game.

verb (used with object)

to search or seek for; pursue.

OTHER WORDS FOR quest

1 hunt, pursuit, search, seeking; journey, mission, undertaking.

See synonyms for quest on Thesaurus.com

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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

historical usage of quest

The Middle English noun quest, originally meaning “inquest, judicial inquiry,” also, in hunting, “a search after game, baying of hounds,” comes partly from Old French queste with the same meanings. Quest also comes from Medieval Latin questa, quaesta, short for rēs quaesita, “a thing sought out, a question,” from the feminine past participle of quaerere “to try to find, seek, seek out.”
Quest in the hunting sense “baying of hounds” first appears in the wonderful Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (about 1390). In Arthurian and chivalric romances, quest in the sense “an expedition undertaken by a knight or band of knights to attain a specific goal” dates from Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur (1485).

OTHER WORDS FROM quest

quester, nounquest·ing·ly, adverbun·quest·ed, adjective

Words nearby quest

ques., quesadilla, qué será, será, Quesnay, queso, quest, question, questionable, questionary, questioning, questionless

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use quest in a sentence

Nobody should have to face repression in their quest for freedom.
Blade contributor participates in congressional roundtable on ICE abuses|Staff reports|August 26, 2020|Washington Blade
This has also led DeFi traders to hop around to different exchanges in their yield farming quest, sometimes with disastrous results.
Crypto soars again as traders embrace ‘DeFi’ and ‘yield farming’—but some see echoes of the 2017 bubble|Jeff|August 25, 2020|Fortune
This heartwarming documentary follows the life of Saskatchewan-born model Ashley Luther, aka Elly Mayday, and her quest to champion the body positivity movement in an industry that really didn’t want to hear it.
This Weekend: You’ll Never Bathe the Same Way Again|Joshua Eferighe|August 21, 2020|Ozy
The last thing that most people would do is call poker, with its competition, its winners and losers, its quest to gain the maximum edge over your opponent, a haven of safety.
The Deck Is Not Rigged: Poker and the Limits of AI|Maria Konnikova|August 7, 2020|Singularity Hub

Powered by this strong financial incentive, the quest for automation is growing ever more pervasive.
The Global Work Crisis: Automation, the Case Against Jobs, and What to Do About It|Peter Xing|August 6, 2020|Singularity Hub
Our quest for better leaders—“Change we can believe in”— is wishful thinking.
Red Tape Is Strangling Good Samaritans|Philip K. Howard|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In our headlong quest for a legally perfect society, we don’t take the time to take stock of what‘s been created so far.
Red Tape Is Strangling Good Samaritans|Philip K. Howard|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hammerstein continued his subtle quest for racial equanimity in Oklahoma!
When Broadway Musicals Were Dark And Subversive|Laurence Maslon|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But sometimes, the quest for facts lets us down, or leads us astray, and leaves us worse off than before, not better.
On Torture, Chuck Johnson & Sondheim|James Poulos|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She began her quest for equal rights shortly after her three-month sentence.
A Quorum For Change: The Fight For Global LGBT Equality|Justin Jones|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They had searched Mortlake House for Alice, and that vain quest had not wasted more than half-an-hour.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
There he stood still for a few seconds and looked around him as if in quest of something.
The Garret and the Garden|R.M. Ballantyne
He was sent from one place to another, in quest of his friend, and made diligent use of his long legs, but without success.
The Garret and the Garden|R.M. Ballantyne
In this quest many paintings, sculptures, and inscriptions were destroyed or defaced of which no record has been preserved.
The Catacombs of Rome|William Henry Withrow
The Englishman went to see how big the tiger was while I led Kari in quest of my broken flute.
Kari the Elephant|Dhan Gopal Mukerji

British Dictionary definitions for quest

quest

/ (kwɛst) /

noun

the act or an instance of looking for or seeking; searcha quest for diamonds

(in medieval romance) an expedition by a knight or company of knights to accomplish some prescribed task, such as finding the Holy Grail

the object of a search; goal or targetmy quest is the treasure of the king

rare a collection of alms

verb (mainly intr)

(foll by for or after) to go in search (of)

to go on a quest

(of gun dogs or hounds)

to search for game
to bay when in pursuit of game

rare to collect alms

(also tr) archaic to go in search of (a thing); seek or pursue

Derived forms of quest

quester, nounquesting, adjectivequestingly, adverb

Word Origin for quest

C14: from Old French queste, from Latin quaesita sought, from quaerere to seek

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with quest

quest

see under in search of.

quest

OTHER WORDS FOR quest

Origin of quest

historical usage of quest

OTHER WORDS FROM quest

Words nearby quest

Words related to quest

How to use quest in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for quest

Derived forms of quest

Word Origin for quest

Other Idioms and Phrases with quest