hound
Plural: hounds
Noun
- any of several breeds of dog used for hunting typically having large drooping ears
- someone who is morally reprehensible
- A dog, particularly a breed with a good sense of smell developed for hunting other animals.
- Any canine animal.
- Someone who seeks something.
- A male who constantly seeks the company of desirable women.
- A despicable person.
- A houndfish.
- Projections located at the masthead or foremast, serving as a support for the trestletrees and top on which to rest; a foretop.
- A side bar used to strengthen portions of the running gear of a vehicle.
Verb
Verb Forms: hounded, hounding, hounds
- To pursue or harass relentlessly, like a hunting dog.
- pursue or chase relentlessly
- "the detectives hounded the suspect until they found him"
- To persistently harass doggedly.
- To urge on against; to set (dogs) upon in hunting.
Examples
- He hounded me for weeks, but I was simply unable to pay back his loan.
- My opponent continued to hound my every move, blocking my attempts at bingos.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English hound, from Old English hund, from Proto-West Germanic *hund, from Proto-Germanic *hundaz, from pre-Germanic *ḱuntós (compare Latvian sùnt-ene (“big dog”), enlargement of Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ (“dog”). Doublet of canine.
In 14th-century England, hound was the general word for all domestic canines, and dog referred to a subtype resembling the modern mastiff and bulldog. By the 16th century, dog had become the general word, and hound had begun to refer only to breeds used for hunting.
Synonyms
blackguard, bounder, cad, dog, heel, hound dog, hunt, trace, badger, bait, bedevil, beleaguer, beset, bug, chevy, cur, give someone grief, harass, harry, hound, persecute, pester, pick at, plague, vex
Scrabble Score: 9
hound: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordhound: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
hound: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary