hunted; hunting; hunts
1
a
: to pursue for food or in sport
hunt buffalo
b
: to manage in the search for game
hunts a pack of dogs
2
a
: to pursue with intent to capture
hunted the escapees
b
: to search out : seek
3
: to drive or chase especially by harrying
members … were hunted from their homes—
J. T. Adams
J. T. Adams4
: to traverse in search of prey
hunts the woods
1
: to take part in a hunt
2
: to attempt to find something
3
: to oscillate alternately to each side (as of a neutral point) or to run alternately faster and slower
—used especially of a device or machine
Synonyms
Examples of hunt in a Sentence
Verb
The wolf was hunting its prey.
These birds have been hunted almost to extinction.
a gun used for hunting squirrels
He likes to hunt and fish.
She hunted around in the closet for a pair of shoes.
Police hunted the escaped prisoners through several states.
Noun
They went on a hunt.
We finally found a good restaurant after a long hunt.
Recent Examples on the WebChris Ramirez, Journal Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2024
And many are going to start hunting online for tickets at the last minute.
—Detroit Free Press, 23 Apr. 2024
Watson is home, but her husband, Ryan Watson, is in jail on the island and facing a potential mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years behind bars after airport security allegedly found four rounds of hunting ammo in his carry-on bag earlier this month.
—Kris Van Cleave, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2024
Indigenous artists hunt animals not only for fur but also for sustenance and survival, a distinctive approach that differs from the rest of the current industry.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 23 Apr. 2024
After the game, Brown talked about the need for Murray to become more aggressive in hunting for his shots.
—Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 20 Apr. 2024
Wildlife managers found grizzly tracks nearby where the bear hunted the cow and also found signs suggesting the bear had been visiting the ranch for about a week, officials said.
—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 18 Apr. 2024
Lomax et al Justin and Ruby, together with la Salle, Lomax, and several family members, returned to the site to hunt for more pieces, then fit them together like a multimillion-year-old jigsaw.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024
Conservation officers from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks cited one of the agency’s own leaders recently—commissioner Leonard Bentz—for illegally hunting turkeys over bait at the end of March.
—Kris Millgate, Field & Stream, 11 Apr. 2024
Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 14 Apr. 2024
Lucy joins up with the Ghoul/Cooper on his hunt for Hank, and Maximus survives a grisly bullet wound.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
His Justice Department opened what became another special counsel investigation in an unsuccessful hunt for evidence proving that notion, including trying but failing to find a basis to charge former top intelligence officials with crimes.
—Alan Feuer, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Deploying drones and other remote sensing technologies could hasten the hunt.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
This progress began in Mesopotamia with a hunt for periodic patterns in historical data.
—Joshua Sokol, Quanta Magazine, 5 Apr. 2024
Melissa Blessing’s family’s annual Easter egg hunt includes eggs and… lottery tickets.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 4 Apr. 2024
Oppenheimer and Barbie proved last year that the parameters around the Oscar race are less rigid, and that early-season releases have just as much (if not a better) standing in the hunt for Academy Awards as those that drop in November and December.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 4 Apr. 2024
Sperm whales search for their food in deep waters – their hunts regularly reach 2,000 feet below the ocean surface and last for 45 minutes.
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
Verb
The group also is recommending that other state licensures — including hunting and fishing licenses — be included for jury-duty eligibility.
—Chris Ramirez, Journal Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2024
And many are going to start hunting online for tickets at the last minute.
—Detroit Free Press, 23 Apr. 2024
Watson is home, but her husband, Ryan Watson, is in jail on the island and facing a potential mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years behind bars after airport security allegedly found four rounds of hunting ammo in his carry-on bag earlier this month.
—Kris Van Cleave, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2024
Indigenous artists hunt animals not only for fur but also for sustenance and survival, a distinctive approach that differs from the rest of the current industry.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 23 Apr. 2024
After the game, Brown talked about the need for Murray to become more aggressive in hunting for his shots.
—Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 20 Apr. 2024
Wildlife managers found grizzly tracks nearby where the bear hunted the cow and also found signs suggesting the bear had been visiting the ranch for about a week, officials said.
—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 18 Apr. 2024
Lomax et al Justin and Ruby, together with la Salle, Lomax, and several family members, returned to the site to hunt for more pieces, then fit them together like a multimillion-year-old jigsaw.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024
Conservation officers from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks cited one of the agency’s own leaders recently—commissioner Leonard Bentz—for illegally hunting turkeys over bait at the end of March.
—Kris Millgate, Field & Stream, 11 Apr. 2024
Noun
The hunt for T’Montez Hurt, a 19-year-old college student from St. Louis who went missing in Kansas City in February, brought out nearly a dozen volunteers on Saturday.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 14 Apr. 2024
Lucy joins up with the Ghoul/Cooper on his hunt for Hank, and Maximus survives a grisly bullet wound.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
His Justice Department opened what became another special counsel investigation in an unsuccessful hunt for evidence proving that notion, including trying but failing to find a basis to charge former top intelligence officials with crimes.
—Alan Feuer, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Deploying drones and other remote sensing technologies could hasten the hunt.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
This progress began in Mesopotamia with a hunt for periodic patterns in historical data.
—Joshua Sokol, Quanta Magazine, 5 Apr. 2024
Melissa Blessing’s family’s annual Easter egg hunt includes eggs and… lottery tickets.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 4 Apr. 2024
Oppenheimer and Barbie proved last year that the parameters around the Oscar race are less rigid, and that early-season releases have just as much (if not a better) standing in the hunt for Academy Awards as those that drop in November and December.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 4 Apr. 2024
Sperm whales search for their food in deep waters – their hunts regularly reach 2,000 feet below the ocean surface and last for 45 minutes.
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hunt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near hunt
Cite this Entry
“Hunt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hunt. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hunt
1 of 2 verb1
a
: to seek out and chase (game) for food or sport
hunt squirrel
b
: to use in hunting game
hunts a pack of dogs
2
a
: to chase in order to capture
b
: to search out : look for : seek
hunting for my gloves
3
: to drive or chase especially by repeated attacks
hunt a criminal out of town
4
: to search through looking for prey
hunts the woods
hunt
2 of 2 noun1
: the action, the practice, or an instance of hunting
2
: a group of hunters
especially
: a group of hunters on horseback and their hunting dogs
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