First recorded in 1665–75
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
McDonald dismissed any suggestions that the leadership was losing its grip on the party, and said the vote on fox hunting demonstrated how members are the ones who set policy.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
The initial source of anger then was the ban on fox hunting.
From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2024
He loved horseback riding, fox hunting and trying different restaurants, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2024
"The vast majority of people in the UK, more than 80% of them, want to see the end of fox hunting."
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2023
They laughed when Obinze said, “I don’t understand why fox hunting is such a big issue in this country. Aren’t there more important things?”
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A keen-animal lover, she was also one of the few Conservative MPs who opposed fox-hunting.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
The whips - a term with its roots in fox-hunting that dates back to 1742 - are widely known to use threats and sometimes offers of promotion to get lawmakers to support the party line.
From Reuters ● Jan. 20, 2022
All through law school, I thought that Nancy Boxley from Virginia was in the fox-hunting crowd.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2020
The manifesto was so cautious it even contained promises not to do things, such as a pledge not to bring back fox-hunting.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 13, 2019
It was nothing like badger-digging or covert-shooting or fox-hunting today.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
