A huntsman is a person who hunts wild animals, especially someone skilled at tracking and pursuing game through forests or across open country. Historically, huntsmen were experts at reading animal signs: broken twigs, disturbed leaves, or faint tracks in mud that revealed which way their quarry had gone.

The word often refers specifically to someone who leads a fox hunt, a traditional sport where riders on horseback follow a pack of hounds chasing a fox. The huntsman manages the hounds, knowing each dog by name and understanding how they work together. The huntsman blows a special horn to signal the other riders and controls the pack with voice commands and hand signals.

In stories and fairy tales, you'll often encounter huntsmen as skilled woodsmen who know the forest intimately. In “Snow White,” a huntsman is ordered to take the princess into the forest but spares her life because he recognizes the queen's cruelty. These fictional huntsmen typically possess deep knowledge of nature, tracking abilities, and a strong moral compass despite their dangerous profession.

The word can also refer to a type of large spider called a huntsman spider, known for hunting its prey actively rather than spinning webs to catch it.