hunter

noun

hunt·​er ˈhən-tər How to pronounce hunter (audio)
1
a
: a person who hunts game
b
: a dog used or trained for hunting
c
: a horse used or adapted for use in hunting with hounds
especially : a fast strong horse trained for cross-country work and jumping
2
: one that searches for something
3
: a pocket watch with a hinged protective cover

Examples of hunter in a Sentence

hunters must have a license to shoot deer
Recent Examples on the Web Recent evidence of mammoth bones distributed in two trap pits in Mexico gives us a clue into how human hunters took woolly mammoths down. Donna Sarkar, Discover Magazine, 17 Nov. 2023 The suspect was then forced to leave their saw in the tree, where it was eventually found by the hunter who owned the stand. Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 15 Nov. 2023 As hunters returned with their game, meat would join the pot, and this cycle would continue for days, with the stew constantly being refreshed and reheated. Jonathan Miles, Field & Stream, 15 Nov. 2023 The hunter alerted authorities, and search-and-rescue teams were able to locate, retrieve and identify Moore’s body on Oct. 31, the sheriff’s office said. Timothy Bella, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023 Undergraduate phage hunters at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County isolated a satellite phage called MiniFlayer from the soil bacterium Streptomyces scabiei. The Conversation, Scientific American, 14 Nov. 2023 This year’s Python Challenge drew 1,035 hunters and netted 209 pythons. Patricia Mazzei, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2023 Three other hunters — Trey Barber, Carter Gavlock and Holden Hunter — also spotted the python at the same time as Elfenbein and joined him and his son in wrangling the snake. Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 8 Nov. 2023 Magnet fishers throw their lines into waters all over the world, joining the tribe of amateur treasure hunters that includes beachcombers with their metal detectors and mudlarkers plucking Roman coins from the muck of the River Thames. Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 6 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hunter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of hunter was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near hunter

Cite this Entry

“Hunter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hunter. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

hunter

noun
hunt·​er ˈhənt-ər How to pronounce hunter (audio)
1
: a person who hunts
especially : one who hunts game
2
: a dog or horse used or trained for hunting

Geographical Definition

Hunter

geographical name

Hun·​ter ˈhən-tər How to pronounce Hunter (audio)
river 287 miles (462 kilometers) long in eastern New South Wales, southeastern Australia, flowing east into the Pacific

Biographical Definition

Hunter

biographical name

Hun·​ter ˈhən-tər How to pronounce Hunter (audio)
John 1728–1793 British anatomist and surgeon

More from Merriam-Webster on hunter

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