Library / English Dictionary

QUEST

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of searching for something

Example:

a quest for diamonds

Synonyms:

quest; seeking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

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

hunt; hunting; search (the activity of looking thoroughly in order to find something or someone)

Derivation:

quest (make a search (for))

Sense 2

Meaning:

A search for an alternative that meets cognitive criteria

Example:

a quest for wealth

Synonyms:

pursuance; pursuit; quest

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

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

search (the examination of alternative hypotheses)

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

wild-goose chase (the fruitless pursuit of something unattainable)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Express the need or desire for

Example:

when you call, always ask for Mary

Synonyms:

ask for; bespeak; call for; quest; request

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "quest" is one way to...):

communicate; pass; pass along; pass on; put across (transmit information)

Verb group:

call for; invite (request the participation or presence of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "quest"):

book; hold; reserve (arrange for and reserve (something for someone else) in advance)

ask; ask out; invite out; take out (make a date)

call (call a meeting; invite or command to meet)

ask over; ask round; invite (invite someone to one's house)

arrogate; claim; lay claim (demand as being one's due or property; assert one's right or title to)

beg (ask to obtain free)

desire (express a desire for)

ask in; invite (ask to enter)

call for; invite (request the participation or presence of)

claim (ask for legally or make a legal claim to, as of debts, for example)

demand (ask to be informed of)

beg off; excuse (ask for permission to be released from an engagement)

challenge (ask for identification)

reserve (obtain or arrange (for oneself) in advance)

beg; solicit; tap (make a solicitation or entreaty for something; request urgently or persistently)

apply (ask (for something))

supplicate (ask for humbly or earnestly, as in prayer)

appeal; invoke (request earnestly (something from somebody); ask for aid or protection)

demand (request urgently and forcefully)

petition (write a petition for something to somebody; request formally and in writing)

encore (request an encore, from a performer)

ask (make a request or demand for something to somebody)

order (make a request for something)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Seek alms, as for religious purposes

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "quest" is one way to...):

beg; solicit; tap (make a solicitation or entreaty for something; request urgently or persistently)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 3

Meaning:

Bark with prolonged noises, of dogs

Synonyms:

bay; quest

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "quest" is one way to...):

bark (make barking sounds)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 4

Meaning:

Search the trail of (game)

Example:

The dog went off and quested

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "quest" is one way to...):

chase; chase after; dog; give chase; go after; tag; tail; track; trail (go after with the intent to catch)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sense 5

Meaning:

Make a search (for)

Example:

The animal came questing through the forest

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "quest" is one way to...):

seek (try to get or reach)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

quest (the act of searching for something)

quester (someone making a search or inquiry)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Waiting was a strain, and it was decided that Hunter and I should go ashore with the jolly-boat in quest of information.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Little expecting to meet Miss Woodhouse so soon, there was a start at first; but Miss Woodhouse was the very person she was in quest of.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

To me at least there was a strange contrast between the sweet promise of the spring and this sinister quest upon which we were engaged.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In the quest to bring technologies closer to the end-user, one particular tool that is increasingly being used for wider purposes than those originally conceived is the mobile phone.

(Scientists design platform to conduct chemical analysis using a smartphone, University of Granada)

He had ridden over to Poole, one November day, with his fellow-squire, Peter Terlake, in quest of certain yew-staves from Wat Swathling, the Dorsetshire armorer.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But the thought of the men in the midst of it steadied me, and in my quest for them I forgot myself.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Stooping over in quest of minnows, he jerked his head back as though he had been stung.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The newly discovered planet, called OGLE-2016-BLG-1195Lb, aids scientists in their quest to figure out the distribution of planets in our galaxy.

('Iceball' Planet Discovered Through Microlensing, NASA)

There are several days that could benefit you in your quest to improve your living quarters.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

He believes the strategy represents a major step forward in the quest to develop disease resistance in long-generational plants such as trees.

(New way to identify disease-resistant genes in chocolate-producing trees, National Science Foundation)