haunt

SayHAWNTUS/hɔnt/UK/hɔːnt/

Verbhaunts, haunting, haunted

Noun pluralhaunts

10 meanings of haunt

Practice

1
verbtransitive
Of a ghost, to stay in a place or keep coming back there.
Like a smell that stays in a room and won't go away.
People say a ghost haunts the old house on the hill.
Strange spirits are said to haunt the abandoned mine.
Similarinhabit, frequent
Note
2
verbtransitive
To keep troubling or upsetting someone in their mind.
Like a song stuck in your head that you can't turn off.
Bad dreams still haunt him after the accident.
The memory of that day haunts her every night.
Similartorment, plague, trouble, disturb, obsess
Note
3
nouncountable
A place that someone visits often or likes to spend time in.
Like the spot at the park you always go back to.
The corner café was his favorite haunt after work.
They showed us all their old haunts from college.
Similarhangout, spot, den
Note
4
verbtransitive
To keep following someone closely wherever they go.
Like a shadow that follows you everywhere you walk.
The stray dog haunted him all the way home.
Reporters seem to haunt the actor wherever he goes.
Similarshadow, stalk, tail, dog, hound
5
nouncountable
A place where wild animals live or come to eat.
Like the spot in the woods where rabbits always gather.
The cave was a favorite haunt of bats.
Hunters know the deer's usual haunts near the river.
Similarhabitat, territory, lair, range
Note
6
verbintransitive
To keep staying somewhere or coming back over and over.
Like a cat that keeps coming back to the same doorstep.
Some old fans still haunt near the stadium gates.
He haunts there every weekend without fail.
Similarlinger, loiter, hover
Note
7
noundialectalcountable
A ghost or spirit of a dead person.
Like a see-through person who floats through walls.
The children swore they saw a haunt in the attic.
Old folks told stories about the haunts that walked the moor.
Similarghost, spirit, specter, phantom, spook
Note
8
verbdialectalNorthern EnglandScotlandUKtransitive
To make someone or something used to a thing.
Like teaching a child to wake up early until it feels normal.
The farmer slowly haunted the young horse to the saddle.
Good teachers haunt their pupils to hard work early on.
Similaraccustom, habituate, train
Note
9
verbdialectalNorthern EnglandScotlandUKtransitive
To do an activity often and give yourself to it.
Every night he haunts the fiddle so he can play well at the dance.
Sailors haunt their old songs on the long voyage.
Similarpractice, ply, pursue
Note

Less common meaning

10
verbarchaicintransitive
To live in a place or stay there as your home.
In those days, shepherds would haunt high in the hills all summer.
Ieſus therfore walked no more openly amõge the iewes : butt went his waye thence vnto a countre ny to a wildernes into a cite called effraym / and there haunted with his diſciples.
1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt (Tyndale Bible)Here, haunted means stayed or lived in a place.
Note

Practice

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Origin

From Old French hanter, meaning to visit a place often or live in it. This came from an old Germanic word for home or village.