hound

noun \ ˈhau̇nd \

|Updated on: 9 Aug 2018

Definition of hound

1 a : dog

b : a dog of any of numerous hunting breeds including both scent hounds (such as the bloodhound and beagle) and sight hounds (such as the greyhound and Afghan hound)

2 : a mean or despicable person

3 : dogfish

4 : a person who pursues like a hound; especially : one who avidly seeks or collects something

autograph hounds

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Examples of hound in a Sentence

in the yard an old hound greeted us with a single bark
a camera hound even before the baby arrived, he's now become obsessive

Recent Examples of hound from the Web

Horror hounds will likely feel bored, confused and more than a little ripped-off.

— noel murray, latimes.com, "Review: Mashup of cameos and mismatched footage doesn't fly in weird vampire flick 'Sunset Society'," 5 July 2018
The cougar was tracked by hounds up a tree and shot by wildlife police.

— erik lacitis, The Seattle Times, "State orders pathology tests on cougar that attacked bicyclists," 21 May 2018
That site, a reference used by word hounds and educators that helps teach people new words, was in the midst of producing recordings for a vast array of words in standard English, about 200,000 in total.

— katy steinmetz, Time, "Meet the Voice Behind That 'Laurel' (or 'Yanny') Clip That's Driving Everyone Nuts," 17 May 2018
Sam’s disappearance made local headlines, and Georgia State Patrol helicopters and blood hounds joined several of his friends and parents to search for him.

— jameelah nasheed, Teen Vogue, "A Member of a Murder-Suicide Pact Was Found Guilty in the Killing of 18-Year-Old Sam Poss," 10 May 2018
The Paulsons spent that summer in Yaphank, N.Y., on the Carmans River, and the hound, who had lost most of his hair, showed up around dusk.

— kevin fisher-paulson, SFChronicle.com, "Dog dish: a tell-all by Bandit the Pekingese," 10 July 2018
Victor, an energetic lab/bulldog/hound mix, will be used for search and rescue work, but can be deployed by Santee Fire Department, if needed.

— karen pearlman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Santee firefighter's dog Victor goes from rescued to rescuer," 5 July 2018
There’s also art from local artists and a ceramic hound to greet you.

— brian e. clark, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "For staycations or visiting friends, the Journeyman Hotel is an urban retreat in the Third Ward," 8 June 2018
His sharing of the report was dismissed by some as the maneuverings of a serial publicity hound.

— marcos bretón, sacbee, "Spotlight dims for one of the city’s most colorful – and confrontational – characters," 11 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hound.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of hound

Middle English, from Old English hund; akin to Old High German hunt dog, Latin canis, Greek kyōn

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First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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hound Synonyms

hound

verb

Definition of hound

hounded; hounding; hounds

transitive verb

1 : to pursue with or as if with hounds

2 : to drive or affect by persistent harassing

—

hounder

noun

See hound defined for English-language learners

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 of hound from the Web

People with the same names as mass murder suspects have regularly been hounded by reporters and internet sleuths.

— adi robertson, The Verge, "Red Hen restaurants around the world are getting blamed for kicking out Sarah Sanders," 26 June 2018
Still, controversy over his past support for Venezuela’s revolution has hounded him.

— Washington Post, "Colombia’s presidential election spawns fear, division," 25 May 2018
But part of the problem is that strong and outspoken women are discouraged from running or hounded out by attacks, leaving candidates who are less accomplished and more pliable.

— The Economist, "Female candidates are facing a backlash in Iraq," 8 May 2018
The collectors hounded consumers named in the fake loans so much that some paid them off.

— mark davis and tony rizzo, kansascity, "Joel Tucker indicted in fake payday loan scheme, accused of lying to bankruptcy judge," 29 June 2018
Hannity has made a career of hounding public figures, some of whom are now private citizens; Hillary Clinton and James Comey are unlikely to hold office ever again.

— daniel d'addario, Time, "How Sean Hannity’s Relationship With Michael Cohen Reveals Fox News’ Vulnerability," 17 Apr. 2018
The 5-foot-10 junior hounded Riverside's top player Jared Butler for most of the night and made the Alabama signee work for every single shot.

— josh preston, NOLA.com, "Country Day 68, Riverside 64: Cajuns capture District 11-2A title," 2 Feb. 2018
Kebede, who had lived in the West London tower for 25 years after moving from his native Ethiopia, was subsequently hounded by journalists and offered witness protection by police concerned for his safety.

— sheena mckenzie, CNN, "Resident of flat where Grenfell fire started was 'blameless,' says lawyer," 6 June 2018
But if a company missed its earnings goals, it would be hounded by shareholders demanding better.

— tracey lien, latimes.com, "As diversity progress in Silicon Valley stalls, advocates call for a new approach," 4 June 2018

First Known Use of hound

1528

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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hound Synonyms

Synonyms

bird-dog, chase, course, dog, follow, pursue, run, shadow, tag, tail, trace, track, trail;

Antonyms

guide, lead, pilot;

Near Antonyms

head;

hunt, search (for), seek;

eye, observe, watch;

Phrases

run after;

Synonym Discussion of 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

HOUND Defined for English Language Learners

hound

noun

Definition of hound for English Language Learners

: a dog; especially : a type of dog that has a very good sense of smell and is trained to hunt
: a person who is very determined to get something especially for a collection : a very enthusiastic collector