Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense hunts, present participle hunting, past tense, past participle hunted
1. verb
If you huntfor something or someone, you try to find them by searching carefully or thoroughly.
A forensic team was hunting for clues. [VERB + for]
Some new arrivals lose hope even before they start hunting for a job. [VERBfor noun]
Chryssa hunted for Patra, and found her busy at a corner of the site. [VERBfor noun]
Hunt is also a noun.
The couple had helped in the hunt for the toddlers. [+ for]
2. verb
If you hunt a criminal or an enemy, you search for them in order to catch or harm them.
Detectives have been hunting him for seven months. [VERB noun]
Her irate husband was hunting him with a gun. [VERB noun]
[Also V + for]
Synonyms: stalk, track, chase, pursue More Synonyms of hunt
Hunt is also a noun.
Despite a nationwide hunt for the kidnap gang, not a trace of them was found. [+ for]
3. verb
When people or animals hunt, they chase and kill wild animals for food or as a sport.
As a child I learned to hunt and fish. [VERB]
A leopard hunts alone, and an injured leopard cannot hunt. [VERB]
He got up at four and set out on foot to hunt black grouse. [VERB noun]
[Also V + for]
Hunt is also a noun.
He set off for a nineteen-day moose hunt in Nova Scotia.
4. verb
In Britain, when people hunt, they ride horses over fields with dogs called hounds and try to catch and kill foxes, as a sport.
She liked to hunt as often as she could. [VERB]
[Also VERB noun]
Hunt is also a noun.
The hunt was held on land owned by the Duke of Marlborough.
5. countable noun
In Britain, a hunt is a group of people who meet regularly to hunt foxes.
Synonyms: search, hunting, investigation, chase More Synonyms of hunt
6.
See in the hunt
7. See also hunting, witch-hunt
Phrasal verbs:
See hunt down
See hunt out
hunt in British English
(hʌnt)
verb
1.
to seek out and kill or capture (game or wild animals) for food or sport
2. (intransitive; often foll byfor)
to look (for); search (for)
to hunt for a book
to hunt up a friend
3. (transitive)
to use (hounds, horses, etc) in the pursuit of wild animals, game, etc
to hunt a pack of hounds
4. (transitive)
to search or draw (country) to hunt wild animals, game, etc
to hunt the parkland
5. (transitive; often foll bydown)
to track or chase diligently, esp so as to capture
to hunt down a criminal
6. (tr; usually passive)
to persecute; hound
7. (intransitive)
(of a gauge indicator, engine speed, etc) to oscillate about a mean value or position
8. (intransitive)
(of an aircraft, rocket, etc) to oscillate about a flight path
noun
9.
the act or an instance of hunting
10.
chase or search, esp of animals or game
11.
the area of a hunt
12.
a party or institution organized for the pursuit of wild animals or game, esp for sport
13.
the participants in or members of such a party or institution
14. in the hunt
Derived forms
huntedly (ˈhuntedly)
adverb
Word origin
Old English huntian; related to Old English hentan, Old Norse henda to grasp
Hunt in British English
(hʌnt)
noun
1.
Henry, known as Orator Hunt. 1773–1835, British radical, who led the mass meeting that ended in the Peterloo Massacre (1819)
2.
(William) Holman. 1827–1910, British painter; a founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (1848)
3.
James. 1947–93, British motor-racing driver: world champion 1976
4.
(Henry Cecil) John, Baron. 1910–98, British army officer and mountaineer. He planned and led the expedition that first climbed Mount Everest (1953)
5.
(James Henry) Leigh (liː). 1784–1859, British poet and essayist: a founder of The Examiner (1808) in which he promoted the work of Keats and Shelley
6.
Sam(uel Percival Maitland). born 1946, New Zealand poet, noted for his public performances
hunt in American English
(hʌnt)
verb transitive
1.
to go out to kill or catch (game) for food or sport
2.
to search eagerly or carefully for; try to find
3.
a.
to pursue; chase; drive
b.
to hound; harry; persecute
4.
a.
to go through (a woods, fields, etc.) in pursuit of game
b.
to search (a place) carefully
5.
to use (dogs or horses) in chasing game
verb intransitive
6.
to go out after game; take part in the chase
7.
to search; seek
8. BELL-RINGING
to change the order of bells in a hunt
see also hunt (sense 13)
noun
9.
the act of hunting; the chase
10.
a group of people who hunt together
11.
a district covered in hunting
12.
a search
13. BELL-RINGING
a series of regularly varying sequences in ringing a group of from five to twelve bells
Idioms:
hunt down
hunt up
in the hunt
Word origin
ME hunten < OE huntian, prob. < base of hentan, to seize < ? IE *kend-, var. of *kent- > Goth (fra)hinthan, to seize: see hand
hunt in Mechanical Engineering
(hʌnt)
Word forms: (present) hunts, (past) hunted, (perfect) hunted, (progressive) hunting
verb
(Mechanical engineering: Machinery and components)
If something, for example engine speed, hunts, it keeps going up and down around a mean value or position.
A governor is said to hunt if the speed of the engine fluctuates continuously above and below the mean speed.
Stability is the ability of a governor to maintain engine speed without hunting.
If something, for example engine speed, hunts, it keeps going up and down around a mean value or position.
More idioms containing
hunt
run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
Examples of 'hunt' in a sentence
hunt
Police were hunting two attackers who made off on a motorcycle.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They were still being hunted by police last night.
The Sun (2016)
Police were hunting a third attacker who fled the scene.
The Sun (2017)
The attacker fled and is still being hunted.
The Sun (2016)
Police are still hunting suspects and last month launched a fresh appeal for information.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
A police helicopter and armed units joined the hunt for the dogs.
The Sun (2017)
The German has glided into a fresh realm this season, still assisting but also on the hunt for more goals.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They are the only whales regularly hunted by man.
Herman Melville Moby Dick (1901)
The new technology is a vital tool in the hunt for criminals and stolen vehicles.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
And then we can talk about his buffalo hunt.
Christianity Today (2000)
In my country sport is hunt bear!
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Police were yesterday hunting the truck driver who failed to stop.
The Sun (2014)
Wild red deer have been hunted for both sport and food here for centuries.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
At the same time there was something mildly hunted about him.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
They are wild animals that hunt and kill for survival.
The Sun (2010)
His shot missed but the hunt was joined in earnest.
Andy Dougan THE HUNTING OF MAN (2004)
Yesterday police were still hunting the crook.
The Sun (2015)
He is coming from a club environment where the improbable is regularly hunted down.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Our first stop was made at the island to allow the young people to hunt for eggs.
Edward Beauclerk Maurice THE LAST OF THE GENTLEMEN ADVENTURERS: Coming of Age in the Arctic (2004)
Police were also hunting a third suspect who was on the run last night.
The Sun (2015)
It asks for economists to hunt for unknown game with their statistical tool kits.
Charles A. D'Ambrosio & Stewart D. Hodges & Richard Brealey & Stewart Myers Principles of Corporate Finance (1991)
It gives viewers the chance to join detectives as they hunt down dangerous criminals to keep us safe.
The Sun (2010)
Like so many of his young countrymen he had been raised to hunt for sport almost all his life.
Andy Dougan THE HUNTING OF MAN (2004)
On Wednesday the local hunt meets in the field outside the house.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Word lists with
hunt
terms used in aviation, Equestrian events, sports and horse races
In other languages
hunt
British English: hunt /hʌnt/ VERB
search If you hunt for something, you try to find it.
I hunted for my keys.
American English: hunt
Arabic: يَصِيدُ
Brazilian Portuguese: procurar
Chinese: 猎取
Croatian: tražiti
Czech: pátrat usilovně hledat
Danish: lede efter
Dutch: zoeken
European Spanish: cazar
Finnish: metsästää
French: chasser
German: jagen
Greek: κυνηγώ
Italian: cacciare
Japanese: 狩りをする
Korean: (…을) 찾다
Norwegian: jakte
Polish: upolować
European Portuguese: procurar
Romanian: a căuta
Russian: охотиться
Latin American Spanish: cazar
Swedish: jaga
Thai: ล่าสัตว์
Turkish: avlamak
Ukrainian: шукати
Vietnamese: săn bắn
British English: hunt /hʌnt/ VERB
animal When animals hunt, they chase another animal to kill it for food.
The lions hunted a zebra.
...a tiger who hunts at night.
American English: hunt
Arabic: يَصِيدُ
Brazilian Portuguese: caçar
Chinese: 猎食
Croatian: loviti
Czech: lovit
Danish: jage
Dutch: jagen
European Spanish: cazar
Finnish: saalistaa
French: chasser
German: jagen
Greek: κυνηγώ
Italian: cacciare
Japanese: 狩りをする
Korean: 사냥하다
Norwegian: jage
Polish: polować
European Portuguese: caçar
Romanian: a vâna
Russian: охотиться
Latin American Spanish: cazar
Swedish: jaga
Thai: ล่าสัตว์
Turkish: avlamak
Ukrainian: полювати
Vietnamese: săn mồi
All related terms of 'hunt'
hunt up
to search for, esp successfully
drag hunt
a hunt in which hounds follow an artificial trail of scent
fox hunt
the hunting of foxes with hounds
hunt down
If you hunt down a criminal or an enemy , you find them after searching for them.
hunt out
If you hunt out something that is hidden or difficult to find , you search for it and eventually find it.
job hunt
a search for employment
stag hunt
a hunt carried out to find and kill stags
house-hunt
to search for a house to buy or rent
hunt's-up
a rousing tune played on a hunting horn to get the hunters out
murder hunt
a search for a murderer
still hunt
the hunting of game by stalking or ambushing
witch hunt
A witch-hunt is an attempt to find and punish a particular group of people who are being blamed for something, often simply because of their opinions and not because they have actually done anything wrong .
hunt sabbing
the activity of sabotaging a hunt due to the belief that animals should not be harmed by humans
hunt saboteur
A hunt saboteur is someone who tries to stop a hunt from taking place or being successful because they believe it is cruel to the animal being hunted.
national hunt
the racing of horses on racecourses with jumps
treasure hunt
a game in which players act upon successive clues and are eventually directed to a prize
in the hunt
If a team or competitor is in the hunt for something, they still have a chance of winning it.
scavenger hunt
a game in which players are required to collect an assortment of miscellaneous items : usually played outdoors
hunt-and-peck
a method of typing while looking at the keyboard , usually using only the forefingers to press the keys
manhunt
A manhunt is a major search for someone who has escaped or disappeared .
hunt the slipper
a children's game in which the players look for a hidden slipper or other object, such as a thimble ( hunt the thimble )
hunt the thimble
a children's game in which the players look for a hidden thimble
National Hunt racing
the racing of horses on racecourses with jumps
run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
to try to support both sides in an argument or conflict , in order to make your own life easier
search high and low for something
to look for something very carefully and thoroughly, looking in every possible place that it could be
Chinese translation of 'hunt'
hunt
(hʌnt)
vt
(for food, sport) 打猎(獵) (dǎliè)
[criminal, fugitive]追捕 (zhuībǔ)
vi
(for food, sport) 打猎(獵) (dǎliè)
(Brit, for foxes) 猎(獵)狐 (lièhú)
n(c)
(for food, sport) 狩猎(獵) (shòuliè) (次, cì)
(Brit, = group of fox hunters) 猎(獵)狐队(隊) (lièhú duì)
(= for missing person) 搜(蒐)寻(尋) (sōuxún) (次, cì)
(= for criminal) 追捕 (zhuībǔ) (次, cì)
detectives are hunting for clues刑警们(們)在寻(尋)找线(線)索 (xíngjǐngmen zài xúnzhǎo xiànsuǒ)
(verb)
Definition
to seek out and kill (animals) for food or sport
Police are hunting a large wildcat that has escaped from the zoo.
Synonyms
stalk
Wolves stalk their prey across the tundra.
track
He thought he had better track this creature and kill it.
chase
She chased the thief for 100 yards.
pursue
She pursued the man who had stolen her bag.
trail
Two detectives were trailing him.
hound
hounded by the press
gun for
(noun)
Definition
the act or an instance of hunting
The couple had helped in the hunt for the lost hiker.
Synonyms
search
There was no chance of him being found alive and the search was abandoned.
hunting
investigation
He ordered an investigation into the affair.
chase
He was arrested after a car chase.
pursuit
Police had obstructed justice by hindering the pursuit of terrorists.
quest
his quest to find true love
phrasal verb
See hunt for something or someone
Additional synonyms
in the sense of chase
Definition
to pursue (a person or animal) persistently or quickly
She chased the thief for 100 yards.
Synonyms
pursue,
follow,
track,
hunt,
run after,
course
in the sense of chase
Definition
the act or an instance of chasing a person or animal