Meaning & use
hunter
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Meanings
nouncountable
A person who chases and kills wild animals for food, sport or profit.
Grammar: Countable noun for a person: a deer hunter.
Patterns
- a hunter of something
- a deer hunter
The hunter waited quietly in the blind at dawn.
Many local hunters buy licenses every autumn.
Early humans were hunters and gatherers.
nouncountable
An animal that catches and eats other animals.
Grammar: Countable noun for predators: wolves are skilled hunters.
Patterns
- a skilled hunter
- a natural hunter
The owl is a silent hunter of the night.
Cats are natural hunters.
Wolves are efficient hunters in packs.
nouncountable
A person who searches eagerly for something, often used in compounds.
Grammar: Often part of a compound: bargain hunter, job hunter.
Patterns
- a bargain hunter
- a job hunter
Bargain hunters lined up outside the shop before dawn.
The treasure hunter explored the old wreck.
Job hunters should update their resumes.
nouncountablespecialist
A horse bred and trained for riding across country in hunts.
Grammar: A specialist sense for horses.
Patterns
- ride a hunter
She rode a strong bay hunter across the fields.
The hunter cleared the fence easily.
Hunters need stamina as well as speed.
Word forms
| plural | hunters |
|---|
Common combinations
- bargain hunter
- A bargain hunter will search every sale rack.
- treasure hunter
- The treasure hunter found a coin in the sand.
- head hunter
- A headhunter called her about a new post.
- skilled hunter
- The lioness is a skilled hunter.
- hunter and prey
- Hunter and prey circled each other.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stalker
- Stalker specifically follows prey quietly, and in current use often means someone who harasses a person.
- predator
- Predator applies mostly to animals and stresses living by killing other animals.
- huntsman
- Huntsman is old-fashioned and often means the manager of a pack of hounds.
- seeker
- Seeker is a general searcher, without the idea of killing.
Opposites
Word family
- hunt verb
- to chase and kill animals, or search for something
- hunting noun
- the activity of chasing wild animals
- huntress noun
- a female hunter
- headhunter noun
- a recruiter who finds talent for jobs
Commonly confused: hunter or hunger?
hunter vs hunger
Hunger is the feeling of needing food, not a person who pursues animals.
Practice
Someone who searches constantly for low prices is called a bargain ___.
Choose one answer.
Bargain hunter is the fixed compound for someone who looks for deals. Seeker and chaser are not used in this phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hunter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.