haunt
/hɔnt/verb, noun
haunt is spelled H-A-U-N-T: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, haunt means “To inhabit or to visit frequently (most often used in reference to ghosts)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in haunt?
| Letters | 5: H-A-U-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 14,106th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is haunt?
Haunt appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce haunt?
- UK /hɔːnt/
- US /hɔnt/
- /hɑnt/
Haunt has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-haunt.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with haunt?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as haunt from its last stressed vowel (/ɔnt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of haunt
- haunts present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- haunting participle, present
- haunted participle, past
- hant
- ha'nt US
- haint US
- harnt US
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does haunt mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To inhabit or to visit frequently (most often used in reference to ghosts).
A couple of ghosts haunt the old, burnt-down house.
- 2
To make uneasy, restless.
The memory of his past failures haunted him.
- 3
To stalk; to follow.
The policeman haunted him, following him everywhere.
- 4
archaicTo live habitually; to stay, to remain.
- 5
ScotlandUKTo accustom; habituate; make accustomed to.
- 6
ScotlandUKTo practise; to devote oneself to.
- 7
To persist in staying or visiting.
noun
- 1
A place at which one is regularly found; a habitation or hangout.
The shopping mall is a popular haunt of the local teenagers in this town.
- 2
A ghost.
- 3
A lair or feeding place of animals in the wild.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Haunt in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | hanter , demeurer , point de rencontre |
| German | herumspuken in, spuken in, heimsuchen , Treffpunkt , verfolgen |
| Portuguese | perseguir, assombrar , poiso, poiso habitual, pouso, pouso habitual |
| Spanish | rondar, embrujar, penar , espantar, desasosegar, inquietar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does haunt come from?
From Middle English haunten (“to reside, inhabit, use, employ”), from Old French hanter (“to inhabit, frequent, resort to”), from Old Northern French hanter (“to go back home, frequent”), from Old Norse heimta (“to bring home, fetch”) or/and from Old English hāmettan (“to bring home; house; cohabit with”); both from Proto-Germanic *haimatjaną (“to house, bring home”), from Proto-Germanic *haimaz (“village, home”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóymos (“village”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).