hunt
hunt
verb
/hʌnt/
1 intransitive, transitive to go after wild animals in order to catch or kill them for food, sport or to make money
Lions sometimes hunt alone.
hunt something Whales are still being hunted and killed in the Arctic.
hunt for something Cavemen had to hunt for their food.
They watched the bald eagles hunting for fish.
hunt something for something The animals are hunted for their fur.
Turtles are illegally hunted for their eggs, meat and shells.
TOPICS Sports: other sports B1
2 intransitive to look for something that is difficult to find
SYNONYM search
hunt for something She is still hunting for a new job.
+ adv./prep. I've hunted everywhere but I can't find it.
After spending half an hour hunting through the boxes, he had still found nothing.
SEE ALSO job-hunt
3 transitive, intransitive to look for somebody in order to catch them or harm them
hunt somebody Police are hunting an escaped criminal.
hunt for somebody Detectives are hunting for thieves who broke into a warehouse yesterday.
​4 intransitive, transitive hunt (something) (in the UK) to go after and kill foxes as a sport, riding horses and using dogs. Fox hunting with dogs has been illegal in England and Wales since 2005, but people still ride out with dogs following a scent trail, without an actual fox.
They hunt when they stay with friends in Ireland.
Phrasal Verbs
hunt down
hunt out
hunt
noun
/hʌnt/
1 countable, usually singular an act of looking for somebody/something that is difficult to find
The hunt is on for a suitable candidate.
hunt for somebody/something Hundreds have joined a police hunt for the missing teenager.
on the hunt for somebody/something They have been on the hunt for a new chief executive since July.
brides-to-be on the hunt for the perfect wedding dress
a murder hunt (= to find the person who has killed somebody)
SEE ALSO Easter egg hunt, scavenger hunt, treasure hunt, witch-hunt
Collocations Dictionary
adjective
massivenationwidepolice…
verb + hunt
beginlaunchcontinue…
hunt + verb
beginbe oncontinue…
preposition
hunt for
2 ​countable (often in compounds) an act of going after wild animals to kill or capture them
a tiger/seal hunt
Collocations Dictionary
adjective
bearfoxseal…
verb + hunt
go ontake part in
hunt + noun
followersupportersaboteur…
3 countable (in the UK) an event at which people ride horses and hunt foxes with dogs as a sport, illegal in England and Wales since 2005
There was always a hunt on Boxing Day.
a hunt meeting
SEE ALSO fox hunt
4 ​countable + singular or plural verb (in the UK) a group of people who regularly hunt foxes as a sport. Since 2005, instead of a fox, they follow a specially laid scent trail.
There were several different hunts in the area.
Idioms
be in the hunt
have a dog in the fight
Word Origin
Old English huntian, of Germanic origin.