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• hide-and-seek
  hide-and-seek

  noun

  one of a variety of children's games in which, according to specified rules, one player gives the others a chance to hide and then attempts to find them.
• hide and seek
  hide and seek

  see play hide and seek.

hide-and-seek

American  

[hahyd-n-seek] / ˈhaɪd nˈsik /

noun

1. one of a variety of children's games in which, according to specified rules, one player gives the others a chance to hide and then attempts to find them.

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hide-and-seek British  

noun

1. a game in which one player covers his eyes and waits while the others hide, and then he tries to find them

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hide and seek Idioms  

1. see play hide and seek.

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Etymology

Origin of hide-and-seek

First recorded in 1665–75

Example Sentences

The next morning, when Bonnie returns sad and tired, we learn that the other girls played hide-and-seek and left Bonnie all on her own to use their tablets.

From Salon • Jun. 21, 2026

Summer nights were hide-and-seek or kick the can throughout our backyards.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026

With $9.1 million, fourth place went to Searchlight's "Ready or Not 2," a follow-up to the 2019 original comedy horror in which a bride must survive a deadly game of hide-and-seek with her new in-laws.

From Barron's • Mar. 22, 2026

Looking for a black hole is like playing hide-and-seek in pitch darkness.

From Space Scoop • Mar. 27, 2025

My sister and I often had trouble fitting in there whenever we played hide-and-seek.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane