English Explanatory Dictionary

hunt

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To find or search for an animal in the wild with the intention of killing the animal for its meat or for sport.
  2. To try to find something; search (for).
  3. To drive; to chase; with down, from, away, etc.
  4. To use or manage (dogs, horses, etc.) in hunting.
  5. To use or traverse in pursuit of game.
  6. To move or shift the order of (a bell) in a regular course of changes.
  7. To shift up and down in order regularly.
  8. To be in a state of instability of movement or forced oscillation, as a governor which has a large movement of the balls for small change of load, an arc-lamp clutch mechanism which moves rapidly up and down with variations of current, etc.; also, to seesaw, as a pair of alternators working in parallel.
noun
  1. The act of hunting.
  2. A hunting expedition.
  3. An organization devoted to hunting, or the people belonging to it.
  4. A pack of hunting dogs.
name
  1. An English surname originating as an occupation for a hunter (for game, birds etc).
  2. A male given name transferred from the surname.
  3. A placename
  4. An unincorporated community in Knox County, Ohio, United States.
  5. An unincorporated community in Kerr County, Texas, United States.
  6. Former name of McFarland, California.
  7. Ellipsis of Hunt County.

Pronunciation

/hʌnt/ en-us-hunt.ogg /hʊnt/

Word forms

hunt hunts hunting hunted

Etymology

From Middle English hunten, from Old English huntian (“to hunt”), from Proto-West Germanic *huntōn (“to hunt, capture”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ḱent- (“to catch, seize”). Related to Old High German hunda (“booty”), Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃 (hunþs, “body of captives”), Old English hūþ (“plunder, booty, prey”), Old English hentan (“to catch, seize”). More at hent, hint. In some areas read as a collective form of hound by folk etymology.

Related words

hunt Hunter Huntress Huntsman Tolosa-Hunt syndrome

Derived words

book-hunt bookhunter bowhunt headhunt head-hunt house-hunt Hunt huntable hunt-and-peck hunt and peck hunt down hunted huntee Hunter hunteress hunting hunt out huntress Huntsman hunt the gowk hunt the slipper hunt up hunt where the ducks are hunt where the ducks were job-hunt outhunt overhunt proverbs hunt in pairs run with the hare and hunt with the hounds snark hunt spider-hunting wasp still-hunt that dog won't hunt that old dog won't hunt thrill of the hunt trophy-hunt you can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds antihunt bunny hunt canned hunt dog in the hunt drag hunt Easter egg hunt egg hunt foxhunt fox hunt ghosthunt huntboard huntless huntlike huntmaster hunt saboteur Hunt's Cross hunt seat huntsperson Hunts Point huntswoman Internet hunt in the hunt manhunt
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