What does "hound" mean?
A dog, particularly a breed with a good sense of smell developed for hunting other animals.
Hound
/haʊnd/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A dog, particularly a breed with a good sense of smell developed for hunting other animals.
- Grammar: hound is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: dog, addict, affenpinscher, afghan hound.
- Useful contrasts: avoider, cat, evade.
- Usage evidence: Spring over the ground like a hunting hound.
How to use "hound"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "hound" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "hound" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "hound" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "hound" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "hound" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "dog" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "hound", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A dog, particularly a breed with a good sense of smell developed for hunting other animals.
- 2 Projections located at the masthead or foremast, serving as a support for the trestletrees and top on which to rest; a foretop. in-plural
- 3 any of several breeds of dog used for hunting typically having large drooping ears wordnet
- 4 Any canine animal.
- 5 A side bar used to strengthen portions of the running gear of a vehicle.
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 someone who is morally reprehensible wordnet
- 7 Someone who seeks something. broadly
"On the way out of the building I was asked for my autograph. If I'd known who the signature hound thought I was, I would've signed appropriately."
- 8 A male who constantly seeks the company of desirable women. broadly
""She had a good many successors, John." "You are such a hound, in that respect, Goodson," said Claywell, "and you have always been such a hound, that it astounds me to find you—unaccompanied.""
- 9 A despicable person.
"Boy! false hound!"
- 10 A houndfish.
Verb
- 1 To persistently harass doggedly. transitive
"He hounded me for weeks, but I was simply unable to pay back his loan."
- 2 pursue or chase relentlessly wordnet
- 3 To urge on against; to set (dogs) upon in hunting. archaic, transitive
"We both thought we saw what had the appearance to be a fox, and hounded the dogs at it, but they would not pursue it."
Proper Noun
- 1 A small village and civil parish in Eastleigh borough, Hampshire, England (OS grid ref SU4708).
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Spring over the ground like a hunting hound."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "hound"?
Common synonyms include: dog, addict, affenpinscher, afghan hound, aficionado, aggravate.
How do you use "hound" in a sentence?
Spring over the ground like a hunting hound.
How do you pronounce "hound"?
Pronounced /haʊnd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English hound, from Old English hund, from Proto-West Germanic *hund, from Proto-Germanic *hundaz, from pre-Germanic *ḱuntós (compare Latvian sùnt-ene (“big dog”), enlargement of Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ (“dog”). Doublet of canine. In 14th-century England, hound was the general word for all domestic canines, and dog referred to a subtype resembling the modern mastiff and bulldog. By the 16th century, dog had become the general word, and hound had begun to refer only to breeds used for hunting.
Etymology 2
From Middle English hounden, from the noun (see above).
Etymology 3
From Middle English hownde, hount, houn, probably from Old Norse húnn, from Proto-Germanic *hūnaz.