Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

bloodhound

/ˈblʌd.haʊnd/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about bloodhound at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A large scenthound famed for its ability to follow a scent many days old, over vast distances. This dog is often used as a police dog to track missing people, fleeing suspects, or escaped prisoners.
A detective or other person skilled at finding people or clues.
A bloodthirsty person.

Origin

Inherited from Middle English blodhound, blodhond; equivalent to blood + hound. Cognate with Dutch bloedhond (“bloodhound”), Middle Low German blōthunt (“bloodhound”), German Bluthund (“bloodhound”), Danish blodhund (“bloodhound”), Swedish blodhund (“bloodhound”). The detective sense follows from the dog's ability to follow a trail.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word