hunt

Universal Words verb, noun verb 1 to chase wild animals or birds in order to catch or kill them for food, sport or to make money: [V] Lions sometimes hunt alone. * [VN] Whales are still being hunted and killed in the Arctic. 2 [V] ~ (for sth) to look for sth that is difficult to find SYNSEARCH: I've hunted everywhere but I can't find it. * She is still hunting for a new job. 3 ~ (for) sb to look for sb in order to catch them or harm them: [VN] Police are hunting an escaped criminal. * [V] Detectives are hunting for thieves who broke into a warehouse yesterday. 4 [V, VN] (in Britain) to chase and kill FOXES as a sport, riding horses and using dogs PHRASALVERBS hunt sb<->down to search for sb until you catch or find them, especially in order to punish or harm them: The President warned that terrorists would be hunted down. hunt sth<->down / out to search for sth until you find it: We hunted down their phone number and gave them a call. * I hunted out my old school photos to show Mary. noun 1 [C,usually sing.] ~ (for sb/sth) an act of looking for sb/sth that is difficult to find: The hunt is on for a suitable candidate. * Hundreds have joined a police hunt for the missing teenager. * a murder hunt (= to find the person who has killed sb) seealsoTREASUREHUNT, WITCH-HUNT 2 [C] (often in compounds) an act of chasing wild animals to kill or capture them: a tiger / seal hunt 3 [C] (in Britain) an event at which people ride horses and hunt FOXES as a sport: There will be a hunt on Boxing Day. * a hunt meeting 4 [C+sing./pl.v.] (in Britain) a group of people who regularly hunt FOXES as a sport: There are several different hunts in the area.