What does "hunt" mean?
The act of hunting.
Hunt
/hʌnt/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act of hunting.
- Grammar: hunt is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: search, angle for, ask for, beat.
- Useful contrasts: avoidance, evade, evasion.
- Usage evidence: Mr Hunt is principal of our school.
How to use "hunt"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "hunt" 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 "hunt" 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 "hunt" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "hunt" 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 "hunt" 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 "search" 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 "hunt", 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 The act of hunting.
"Through male bonding, the subculture of the hunt caught up in the mystique of the chase, the hunting party became a military force, and men discovered that they need not stop at defense: they could go out to hunt for other people's wealth."
- 2 the pursuit and killing or capture of wild animals regarded as a sport wordnet
- 3 A hunting expedition.
- 4 the work of finding and killing or capturing animals for food or pelts wordnet
- 5 An organization devoted to hunting, or the people belonging to it.
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 the activity of looking thoroughly in order to find something or someone wordnet
- 7 A pack of hunting dogs.
- 8 an instance of searching for something wordnet
- 9 an association of huntsmen who hunt for sport wordnet
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. ambitransitive
"State Wildlife Management areas often offer licensed hunters the opportunity to hunt on public lands."
- 2 pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals) wordnet
- 3 To try to find something; search (for). ambitransitive
"The little girl was hunting for shells on the beach."
- 4 search (an area) for prey wordnet
- 5 To drive; to chase; with down, from, away, etc. transitive
"to hunt down a criminal"
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 seek, search for wordnet
- 7 To use or manage (dogs, horses, etc.) in hunting. transitive
"Did you hunt that pony last week?"
- 8 oscillate about a desired speed, position, or state to an undesirable extent wordnet
- 9 To use or traverse in pursuit of game. transitive
"He hunts the woods, or the country."
- 10 pursue or chase relentlessly wordnet
- 11 To move or shift the order of (a bell) in a regular course of changes. transitive
- 12 yaw back and forth about a flight path wordnet
- 13 To shift up and down in order regularly. intransitive
- 14 chase away, with as with force wordnet
- 15 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. intransitive
"[…] after which the inertia of the camera causes the motor to hunt with fluctuating speed."
Proper Noun
- 1 An English surname originating as an occupation for a hunter (for game, birds etc). countable, uncountable
- 2 A male given name transferred from the surname. countable, rare, uncountable
- 3 A placename; An unincorporated community in Knox County, Ohio, United States. countable, uncountable
- 4 A placename; An unincorporated community in Kerr County, Texas, United States. countable, uncountable
- 5 A placename; Former name of McFarland, California. countable, uncountable
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A placename; Ellipsis of Hunt County. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Mr Hunt is principal of our school."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "hunt"?
Common synonyms include: search, angle for, ask for, beat, beat about, beat about for.
How do you use "hunt" in a sentence?
Mr Hunt is principal of our school.
How do you pronounce "hunt"?
Pronounced /hʌnt/.
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.