To hunt means to pursue and capture or kill wild animals, either for food or sport. For thousands of years, humans hunted deer, rabbits, birds, and other game to feed their families. Many people still hunt today, following careful rules about which animals can be hunted and when, rules designed to keep animal populations healthy.

Hunting requires patience, skill, and knowledge of animal behavior. A hunter might wait silently in the woods at dawn, watching for deer, or walk through fields looking for pheasants. Modern hunters use rifles or bows, while ancient humans used spears, traps, and teamwork to hunt even large animals like mammoths.

The word also means searching carefully for something. You might hunt for your missing homework in your backpack, or hunt through the library for a specific book. When you're on a scavenger hunt, you search for items on a list. Detectives hunt for clues to solve mysteries.

People who hunt regularly are called hunters. As a noun, hunt can describe the activity itself: “They went on a hunt for wild turkeys.” When you're desperately searching for something, you might say you're hunting high and low for it.