hound

verb

hounded; hounding; hounds

transitive verb

1

: to pursue with or as if with hounds

2

: to drive or affect by persistent harassing

hounder noun

Synonyms of hound

• chase
• track
• pursue
• dog
• follow
• escort

Choose the Right Synonym for hound

bait, badger, heckle, hector, chivy, hound mean to harass by efforts to break down.

bait implies wanton cruelty or delight in persecuting a helpless victim.

baited the chained dog

badger implies pestering so as to drive a person to confusion or frenzy.

badgered her father for a car

heckle implies persistent annoying or belligerent interruptions of a speaker.

drunks heckled the stand-up comic

hector carries an implication of bullying and domineering.

football players hectored by their coach

chivy suggests persecution by teasing or nagging.

chivied the new student mercilessly

hound implies unrelenting pursuit and harassing.

hounded by creditors

Examples of hound in a Sentence

He is being hounded by the press.

They hounded me with questions.

They hounded me for my autograph.

hound a politician out of office

Recent Examples on the Web

And so, hounded by creditors and distressed by mounting debts, the remaining family had to leave their formerly genteel surroundings for the gritty, unsentimental shadows of the Yoshiwara. —Literary Hub, 28 May 2026

Waterhouse and Pattinson have chosen not to share their daughter’s name or face publicly but are hounded by paparazzi trying to capture them. —Ellise Shafer, Variety, 28 May 2026

The Thunder have no weak links defensively and have several guys capable of hounding Jalen Brunson and disrupting Karl-Anthony Towns’ flow. —James L. Edwards Iii, New York Times, 27 May 2026

The searches add to a growing list of legal cases that are hounding Spain's Socialists. —ABC News, 27 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1528, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing hound

• Afghan hound
• basset hound
• hound's-tongue
• hound's-tooth
• Ibizan hound
• lyam-hound
• lyme-hound
• rock hound
• scent hound
• sight hound
• smooth hound

Rhymes for hound

• bound
• browned
• crowned
• downed
• drowned
• found
• frowned
• gowned
• ground
• mound
• round
• sound

Kids Definition

hound

1 of 2 noun

ˈhau̇nd 

1

: dog entry 1 sense 1a

2

: a dog of any of various hunting breeds having large drooping ears and a deep voice and following their prey by scent or sight

hound

2 of 2 verb

: to pursue with or as if with hounds