hound

noun

\ˈhau̇nd

Definition of hound

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : 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

hound

verb

hounded; hounding; hounds

Definition of hound (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to pursue with or as if with hounds

2 : to drive or affect by persistent harassing

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Choose the Right Synonym for hound

Verb

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

Noun

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

Verb

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: Noun

Washington voters approved two initiatives in 1996 and 2000, which together banned the use of bait, hounds and body-gripping traps to kill bears. — Phuong Le, The Seattle Times, "Group sues Washington Fish and Wildlife over bear killings," 2 June 2018 A hundred years ago pretty much every secondary non-state school in England had its own pack of hounds. — Anna Silman, The Cut, "What Was It Like to Go to School With Prince Harry?," 18 May 2018 He and Valenzuela have two dogs, a Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix named Indiana Jones and a Labrador retriever/hound mix named Clara Barton. — Benjy Egel, sacbee, "Pub meets pug? Sacramento's new dog hangout will serve booze, coffee and bar food," 22 June 2018 That’s more and more likely now that Trump’s immigration hound dogs have more access to information about those seeking to sponsor a child in U.S. custody. — Dahleen Glanton, chicagotribune.com, "With Trump, U.S. has ceded the moral high ground on immigration," 21 June 2018 While pseudonymous, payments on the Bitcoin blockchain are far from untraceable, a fact that has inspired competing currencies marketed to true privacy hounds, such as Zcash and Monero. — Gregory Barber, WIRED, "Someone Found a Use for Bitcoin. Russian Hackers!," 13 July 2018 Attendees can dress up to match their pups or enter the hounds alone in the contest. — April Orcutt, latimes.com, "Close to home for July 13-15: All sorts of riches--Shakespeare, gold, Edith Piaf and dogs," 8 July 2018 Voters decided there wasn’t much sport in using hounds, said Beausoleil. — Erik Lacitis, The Seattle Times, "State orders pathology tests on cougar that attacked bicyclists," 21 May 2018 Porras says warming temperatures on Sunday made the hounds' ability to track the bear less effective. — CBS News, "Grand Junction, Colorado Officials hunt for bear that dragged girl outside her home," 14 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Nack wrote: To find him, to see him, had become a kind of crazy and delirious obsession, the kind of insanity that has hounded other men in search of, say, the Loch Ness monster. — Tim Layden, SI.com, "Remembering William Nack: A Passionate, Personable Master of His Craft," 14 Apr. 2018 The Wolverines hounded a Florida State team that averaged more than 80 points to 16-for-51 shooting, with four field goals through the first 18 minutes of the second half. — Nick Baumgardner, Detroit Free Press, "John Beilein's most unique Michigan team in Final Four, title in sight," 25 Mar. 2018 Positioning himself as a domineering global figure to shore up his standing back home, Trump is changing the subject from the scandals hounding his administration ahead of the midterm elections. — Stephen Collinson, CNN, "Trump hopes America First abroad leads to wins at home," 11 May 2018 Just 40 seconds into period two, Reilly Smith hounded San Jose’s Marc-Edouard Vlasic on the half-wall, forcing a turnover that fell right into Karlsson’s lap. — Tim Hackett, SI.com, "Stanley Cup Playoffs Roundup: Sharks Break Through Against Vegas; Bruins Topple Lightning," 29 Apr. 2018 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

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.