Hound Definition
hound
hounded, hounding, hounds
noun
hounds
Any of several breeds of hunting dog that find game either by scenting and tracking, as the beagle, bloodhound, and foxhound, or by sighting followed by swift pursuit, as the borzoi, deerhound, and greyhound.
Webster's New World
Any dog, especially a member of one of the hunting breeds, with drooping ears, a deep-throated bark, and a keen sense of smell.
Webster's New World
A dog.
American Heritage
A contemptible person.
Webster's New World
One who eagerly pursues something.
A gossip hound.
American Heritage
verb
hounded, hounding, hounds
To pursue relentlessly and tenaciously.
The suspect was hounded by the police for weeks.
American Heritage
To hunt or chase with or as with hounds; chase or follow continually; nag.
To hound a debtor.
Webster's New World
To urge on; incite as to pursuit.
Webster's New World
To make repeated demands of or subject to persistent criticism.
Her parents hounded her until she agreed to look for a better job.
American Heritage
To pressure or force from a place or situation.
Accusations that hounded him out of office.
American Heritage
Antonyms:
- leave-alone
- leave in peace
idiom
follow the hounds
- to hunt a fox, etc. on horseback with hounds
Webster's New World
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Hound
- follow the hounds
Origin of Hound
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From Middle English honde, from Old English hund, from Proto-Germanic *hundaz (confer West Frisian hûn, Dutch hond, German Hund, Danish hund, Swedish hund), from pre-Germanic *ḱu̯n̥-tós, *ḱwn̥tós (confer Latvian sùnt-ene (“big dog”)), englargement of Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ (“dog”) (cf. Welsh cwn (“dogs”), Tocharian AB ku, Lithuanian šuõ), Armenian շուն (šun).
From Wiktionary
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Middle English from Old English hund kwon- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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