The act of finding and killing a wild animal, either for sport or with the intention of using its parts to make food, clothes, etc.
"The local community organized an illegal hunting expedition last night in hopes of catching enough deer to feed their families through the winter."
In plain English: Hunting is the act of searching for and catching wild animals to eat or keep as pets.
"He spends his weekends going hunting in the forest with his grandfather."
Usage: As a noun, hunting refers specifically to the activity of pursuing wild animals for sport or food. Use this term when describing the actual process of tracking and capturing game, not as a synonym for searching for jobs or objects.
present participle of hunt
"The hikers paused to watch a bear hunting for salmon in the rushing river."
In plain English: To hunt means to search for something by moving around actively, like looking for a lost item or trying to catch an animal.
"We spent the whole morning hunting for our lost dog in the park."
Usage: Use hunting to describe the active process of searching for or pursuing game animals, wild food sources, or sometimes other targets like ghosts. It implies ongoing movement and effort rather than a completed result.
A surname.
"The local library recently received a donation from Mr. Hunting, who was born into a family of avid anglers."
The word hunting comes directly from Old English and has retained its original meaning of pursuing game or wild animals. It entered the language as a straightforward formation by adding the suffix "-ing" to the root word "hunt."