Library / English Dictionary

HUNTING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The pursuit and killing or capture of wild animals regarded as a sport

Synonyms:

hunt; hunting

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("hunting" is a kind of...):

field sport; outdoor sport (a sport that is played outdoors)

blood sport (sport that involves killing animals (especially hunting))

Domain member category:

gin (trap with a snare)

ensnare; entrap; snare; trammel; trap (catch in or as if in a trap)

batfowl (catch birds by temporarily blinding them)

bag (capture or kill, as in hunting)

drive ((hunting) search for game)

drive ((hunting) chase from cover into more open ground)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hunting"):

battue (a hunt in which beaters force the game to flee in the direction of the hunter)

beagling (hunting rabbits with beagles)

coursing (hunting with dogs (usually greyhounds) that are trained to chase game (such as hares) by sight instead of by scent)

deer hunt; deer hunting (hunting deer)

duck hunting; ducking (hunting ducks)

fox hunting; foxhunt (mounted hunters follow hounds in pursuit of a fox)

pigsticking (the sport of hunting wild boar with spears)

Derivation:

hunt (pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals))

hunt (search (an area) for prey)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The work of finding and killing or capturing animals for food or pelts

Synonyms:

hunt; hunting

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("hunting" is a kind of...):

labor; labour; toil (productive work (especially physical work done for wages))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hunting"):

predation (the act of preying by a predator who kills and eats the prey)

birdnesting (hunting for birds' nests to get the eggs)

stalk; stalking; still hunt (a hunt for game carried on by following it stealthily or waiting in ambush)

canned hunt (a hunt for animals that have been raised on game ranches until they are mature enough to be killed for trophy collections)

Derivation:

hunt (pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals))

Sense 3

Meaning:

The activity of looking thoroughly in order to find something or someone

Synonyms:

hunt; hunting; search

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("hunting" is a kind of...):

activity (any specific behavior)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hunting"):

exploration (a careful systematic search)

forage; foraging (the act of searching for food and provisions)

frisk; frisking (the act of searching someone for concealed weapons or illegal drugs)

looking; looking for (the act of searching visually)

manhunt (an organized search (by police) for a person (charged with a crime))

quest; seeking (the act of searching for something)

ransacking; rummage (a thorough search for something (often causing disorder or confusion))

scouring (moving over territory to search for something)

shakedown (a very thorough search of a person or a place)

Derivation:

hunt (seek, search for)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

-ing form of the verb hunt

Credits

 Context examples: 

There was a hunting trophy in the hall, and from it I took a straight heavy knife which I sharpened upon my boot.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

NASA's planet-hunting Kepler space telescope also has been observing this star since December 2016.

(NASA's Kepler Provides Another Peek at Ultra-cool Neighbor, NASA)

Observing snakes hunting is difficult, with only a few of the 3,650 snake species having been seen hunting in the wild.

(Snakes Hunt in Groups, Study Suggests, VOA)

The effects of hunting can extend far beyond the hunted, threatening the overall health of the trees that make up the forest.

(Overhunting of large animals has catastrophic effects on trees, NSF)

These orcas, she suggests, specialize in hunting sharks.

(Study indicates as great white shark disappears, living fossil moves in, Wikinews)

Astronomers use this "zoom lens" effect to go hunting for amplified images of distant galaxies that otherwise would not be visible with today's telescopes.

(NASA's Great Observatories Team Up to Find Magnified and Stretched Image of Distant Galaxy, NASA)

There is no reason why he should; his hunting ground is more full of game than the churchyard where the Un-Dead woman sleep, and the one old man watch.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

White Fang's gods were always hunting animals.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

“Thank you. You are so kind!” replied the happily deceived aunt, while eagerly hunting for the letter.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

The Foxhound is a medium-sized glossy-coated hound developed for hunting foxes.

(Foxhound, NCI Thesaurus)