hunt
♦ hunt /h'ʌnt/ (hunts hunting hunted)
1 [VERB] V for n
If you hunt for something or someone, you try to find them by searching carefully or thoroughly.
A forensic team was hunting for clues...
= search
[N-COUNT]
Hunt is also a noun.
The couple had helped in the hunt for the toddlers.
= search
2 [VERB] V n, also V for n
If you hunt a criminal or an enemy, you search for them in order to catch or harm them.
Detectives have been hunting him for seven months...
[N-COUNT] usu sing, oft N for n
Hunt is also a noun.
Despite a nationwide hunt for the kidnap gang, not a trace of them was found.
3 [VERB] V, V n, also V for n
When people or animals hunt, they chase and kill wild animals for food or as a sport.
As a child I learned to hunt and fish...
He got up at four and set out on foot to hunt black grouse.
[N-COUNT] oft n N
Hunt is also a noun.
He set off for a nineteen-day moose hunt in Nova Scotia.
4 [VERB] V, also V n
In Britain, when people hunt, they ride horses over fields with dogs called hounds and try to catch and kill foxes, as a sport.
She liked to hunt as often as she could.
[N-COUNT]
Hunt is also a noun.
The hunt was held on land owned by the Duke of Marlborough.
5 [N-COUNT]
In Britain, a hunt is a group of people who meet regularly to hunt foxes.
6 [PHRASE] usu v-link PHR for
If a team or competitor is in the hunt for something, they still have a chance of winning it.
We're still in the hunt for the League title and we want to go all the way in the Cup.
7
see also hunting, witch-hunthunt down
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V n P
If you hunt down a criminal or an enemy, you find them after searching for them.
Last December they hunted down and killed one of the gangsters...
It took her four months to hunt him down.hunt out
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V P n (not pron), also V n P
If you hunt out something that is hidden or difficult to find, you search for it and eventually find it.
I'll try and hunt out the information you need...
American consumers are accustomed to hunting out bargains.
= dig outhunt sabo|teur (hunt saboteurs)
[N-COUNT]
A hunt saboteur is someone who tries to stop a hunt from taking place or being successful because they believe it is cruel to the animal being hunted.
1 [VERB] V for n
If you hunt for something or someone, you try to find them by searching carefully or thoroughly.
A forensic team was hunting for clues...
= search
[N-COUNT]
Hunt is also a noun.
The couple had helped in the hunt for the toddlers.
= search
2 [VERB] V n, also V for n
If you hunt a criminal or an enemy, you search for them in order to catch or harm them.
Detectives have been hunting him for seven months...
[N-COUNT] usu sing, oft N for n
Hunt is also a noun.
Despite a nationwide hunt for the kidnap gang, not a trace of them was found.
3 [VERB] V, V n, also V for n
When people or animals hunt, they chase and kill wild animals for food or as a sport.
As a child I learned to hunt and fish...
He got up at four and set out on foot to hunt black grouse.
[N-COUNT] oft n N
Hunt is also a noun.
He set off for a nineteen-day moose hunt in Nova Scotia.
4 [VERB] V, also V n
In Britain, when people hunt, they ride horses over fields with dogs called hounds and try to catch and kill foxes, as a sport.
She liked to hunt as often as she could.
[N-COUNT]
Hunt is also a noun.
The hunt was held on land owned by the Duke of Marlborough.
5 [N-COUNT]
In Britain, a hunt is a group of people who meet regularly to hunt foxes.
6 [PHRASE] usu v-link PHR for
If a team or competitor is in the hunt for something, they still have a chance of winning it.
We're still in the hunt for the League title and we want to go all the way in the Cup.
7
see also hunting, witch-hunthunt down
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V n P
If you hunt down a criminal or an enemy, you find them after searching for them.
Last December they hunted down and killed one of the gangsters...
It took her four months to hunt him down.hunt out
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V P n (not pron), also V n P
If you hunt out something that is hidden or difficult to find, you search for it and eventually find it.
I'll try and hunt out the information you need...
American consumers are accustomed to hunting out bargains.
= dig outhunt sabo|teur (hunt saboteurs)
[N-COUNT]
A hunt saboteur is someone who tries to stop a hunt from taking place or being successful because they believe it is cruel to the animal being hunted.