Added 9 October 2026
hunt
/hʌnt/ verb
In Latin: vēnor Wiktionary
verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about hunt at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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To find or search for an animal in the wild with the intention of killing the animal for its meat or for sport.
State Wildlife Management areas often offer licensed hunters the opportunity to hunt on public lands.
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To try to find something; search (for).
The little girl was hunting for shells on the beach.
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To drive; to chase; with down, from, away, etc.
to hunt down a criminal
noun
- The act of hunting.
- A hunting expedition.
- An organization devoted to hunting, or the people belonging to it.
Origin
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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)