quest

[ kwest ]

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.

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

word story For 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 for quest

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

See synonyms for quest on Thesaurus.com

Other words from quest

quester, noun
quest·ing·ly, adverb
un·quest·ed, adjective

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

How to use quest in a sentence

Bolt Threads joins Modern Meadow in the quest to bring lab-grown leather to marketThe company, which has raised over $200 million since its launch nearly 11 years ago, faces some pretty tough competition.
Bolt Threads partners with Adidas, owners of Balenciaga and Gucci, and Stella McCartney on mushroom leather | Jonathan Shieber | October 2, 2020 | TechCrunch
It’s the quest for truth, evidence, and facts and the use of that truth as we fairly apply our laws.
Protesters hit the streets for a second night after officers aren’t charged with killing Breonna Taylor | Fabiola Cineas | September 25, 2020 | Vox
Her Jewish funeral and Arlington National Cemetery burial speak to her quest to balance these two identities.
In Death, As In Life, Ruth Bader Ginsburg Balanced Being American And Jewish | LGBTQ-Editor | September 25, 2020 | No Straight News
Structural batteries for better-handling carsAs part of its quest for increased electric car range, Tesla plans to change up the way it builds its cars.
Tesla’s new battery tech promises a road to a cheap self-driving electric car | Stan Horaczek | September 24, 2020 | Popular-Science
California governor Gavin Newsom made a bold attempt today to eliminate sales of new gas-guzzling cars and trucks, marking a critical step in the state’s quest to become carbon neutral by 2045.
California looks to eliminate gas guzzlers—but legal hurdles abound | James Temple | September 24, 2020 | MIT Technology Review

The colony scout supplied the only two explanations he had, sending his own thought out questing.
Star Born | Andre Norton
The questing beam came to rest on a brown army tunic behind the desk, followed it up quickly to the face and there held.
The Onslaught from Rigel | Fletcher Pratt
And always there was the drone of the questing aroplanes overhead and the thunderous roaring of the guns in front.
The Glory of The Coming | Irvin S. Cobb
The questing snout swung to and fro, fixed its position and discharged another of those lightning-bolts.
The Onslaught from Rigel | Fletcher Pratt
A questing Pompilus comes upon the scene, finds the game to her liking and pops in her head at the entrance of the cell.
More Hunting Wasps | J. Henri Fabre

British Dictionary definitions for quest

quest

/ (kwɛst) /

noun

the act or an instance of looking for or seeking; search: a 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 target: my 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

Origin of quest

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

Derived forms of quest

quester, noun
questing, adjective
questingly, adverb

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.

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